Aeneas James George Mackay (3 November 1839 – 10 June 1911) was a Scottish lawyer and academic, known as a legal and historical writer.

Life

Born at 7 Albyn Place on the

Moray Estate The Moray Estate in Edinburgh was an exclusive early 19th century building venture attaching the west side of Edinburgh's New Town. Built on an awkward and steeply sloping site, it has been described as a masterpiece of urban planning. Back ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

on 3 November 1839 and was son of Mary, daughter of John Kirkcaldy of Baldovie, Forfarshire and Thomas George Mackay,

writer to the signet The Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet is a private society of Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up of document ...

. He was paternal grandson of Aeneas Mackay, a famous Edinburgh lawyer. He was educated at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, is now part of the Senior School. The Junior School is located on Arboretum Ro ...

and

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King G ...

, where he gained distinction in divinity and history. He went on to

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

, where he graduated BA in 1862, proceeding MA in 1865, and then at

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

, completing his legal curriculum at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, where he was one of the first to obtain the degree of LL.B. Mackay was admitted advocate at the Scottish bar in 1864, and attained repute in consultation. He devoted time to studies in law and history, and in 1874 he succeeded

Cosmo Innes Cosmo Nelson Innes FRSE (9 September 1798 – 31 July 1874) was a Scottish advocate, judge, historian and antiquary. He served as Advocate-Depute, Sheriff of Elginshire, and Principal Clerk of Session. He was a skilled decipherer of ancien ...

as professor of constitutional law and history in the University of Edinburgh. In 1881 Mackay was appointed advocate-depute and resigned the professorship. In 1886 he was made

Sheriff of Fife and Kinross The Sheriff of Fife was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order in Fife, Scotland and bringing criminals to justice. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobite ...

, retaining the office till 1901 when failing health compelled him to resign. Mackay was granted an honorary doctorate (LLD) by the

in 1882, a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1897, and was a fellow of King's College, London. He was one of the founders of the

Scottish History Society The Scottish History Society is a historical and text publication society, which promotes the study of and research in the history of Scotland. It was founded in 1886, as part of the late 19th-century revival in interest in Scottish national i ...

in 1885, and was an active member of the

Scottish Text Society The Scottish Text Society (STS) is a text publication society founded in 1882 to promote the study of Scottish literature. The Society publishes scholarly editions of important texts from the country's literary history, and has played a significa ...

. He died at 7 Albyn Place,Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1911 his birthplace, on 10 June 1911. He is buried with his parents in the churchyard of St John's Episcopal Church, Edinburgh on Princes Street, close to his home. The grave lies on the upper burial terrace closest to Princes Street. The grave bears a medallion portrait of his father.

Works

Mackay's major work was ''The Practice of the Court of Session'' (2 vols. 1877–9), which became a standard authority. Other works were: * ''Memoir of Sir James Dalrymple of Stair'', 1873. * ''William Dunbar: a Study in the Poetry and History of Scotland'', 1889. * ''A Sketch of the History of Fife and Kinross'', Cupar Fife, 1890.
''A Century of Scottish Proverbs and Sayings, in Prose and Rhyme, current in Fife''
Cupar Fife, 1891. * ''Manual of Practice in the Court of Session'', Edinburgh, 1893. * ''A History of Fife and Kinross'' ("County Histories" series), Edinburgh, 1896. For the Scottish History Society Mackay wrote a life of

John Mair John Mair may refer to: *John Major (philosopher) John Major (or Mair; also known in Latin as ''Joannes Majoris'' and ''Haddingtonus Scotus''; 1467–1550) was a Scottish philosopher, theologian, and historian who was much admired in his day ...

, for

Archibald Constable Archibald David Constable (24 February 1774 – 21 July 1827) was a Scottish publisher, bookseller and stationer. Life Constable was born at Carnbee, Fife, son of the land steward to the Earl of Kellie. In 1788 Archibald was apprenticed to P ...

's translation of Mair's ''History of Great Britain'' (1892); and for the Scottish Text Society he supplied in 1884 an introduction and appendix for an edition of the ''Poems'' of

William Dunbar William Dunbar (born 1459 or 1460 – died by 1530) was a Scottish makar, or court poet, active in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. He was closely associated with the court of King James IV and produced a large body of work i ...

, and also edited Lindsay of Pitscottie's ''Chronicles of Scotland'' in 1899. He wrote articles on Scottish subjects for the '' Dictionary of National Biography'' and the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

.'' During the final ten years of his life illness condemned him to inactivity. His last works were connected with the statute law revision for Scotland, for which he prepared an account of pre-Union legislation, issued as a Blue Book.

Family

In 1891 Mackay married Lilian Alina, daughter of Colonel Charles W. St. John, 94th regiment. They had no children.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackay, Aeneas James George 1839 births 1911 deaths People educated at Edinburgh Academy Alumni of King's College London Fellows of King's College London Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish historians Scottish legal writers Scottish biographers Scottish King's Counsel 19th-century King's Counsel Scottish sheriffs Scottish Episcopalians 19th-century Scottish judges