Legal Definitions - responde book

A responde book is a historical record in Scots law that lists all the duties that heirs had to pay when they received royal warrants to take possession of a deceased person's lands.

For example, if a person died and left behind a piece of land, their heir would need to obtain a royal warrant to take possession of that land. The responde book would then record all the duties that the heir had to pay to the chancellery in order to receive that warrant.

The responde book was an important document in ensuring that the chancellery received all the duties owed to them. It also served as a record of the transfer of land ownership from one person to another.