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Scribes were historically used for record keeping and writing tasks, giving rise to professions such as law and accountancy. The term “writer” comes from the Latin word for scribe. Scribes can still be used today for administrative tasks and drafting legal documents, particularly in illiterate communities. In law, a scribe’s error can be corrected by oral testimony if it is clearly the author’s mistake.
Historically, a scribe was someone who had the ability to write and read, and could therefore be involved in record keeping. Literacy was once a privilege available to only a few, with many citizens including some members of the upper classes relying on scribes to perform tasks such as writing assignments, recording inventory, and so on. Early scribes gave rise to a number of professions, including law and accountancy, and some people continue to use the term ‘writer’ to refer to a notary, referring to an earlier era.
The word “writer” comes from the Latin word for “scribe.” In law, a clerk acts as a clerk by transcribing legal documents such as contracts or drafting contracts on behalf of a lawyer. A scribe can also be someone who keeps records and performs various administrative tasks including taking dictation, transcribing recordings, and so on. This term is rarely used in the legal profession today and is more commonly seen in a historical sense.
A non-lawyer can act as a scribe and draft a legal document on behalf of a client, without assuming any liability for legal errors unless the document deviates materially from the form provided by the client. Especially in Europe, someone who acts as an agent or carrier may be known as a scribe, referring to an earlier era when people relied on the services of others to make business arrangements and enter into contracts.
There are still regions of the world where illiteracy rates are high and people rely on scribes in the traditional sense. Scribes in illiterate communities read letters for people as well as write them, and can explain documents, help draft contracts, and provide other assistance to people who cannot read and write for themselves. Scriveners have varying levels of education, ranging from highly proficient to fairly low proficient people who are still better than most people in the community.
In law there is also a concept known as “scribe’s error”, which states that if an error in a written document is clearly the result of an error on the part of the author, it can be corrected by oral testimony, provided the testimony is clear and unambiguous. For example, if a map misstates a town name as “Litleton” when it is clearly meant to be “Littleton,” this can be corrected under this doctrine.
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