This copy, which is entitled ‘THE ORIGINE And Descent of the most noble and jllustre familie, and name of Douglas: (etc.)`, is a fair copy made in another hand from a manuscript of the author`s, and deals only with the Black Douglases. From internal evidence, Hume`s manuscript was written before the death of James VI in 1625: this copy was made after 1621.

It is written in an anglicized and inconsistent Scots, but the text has been heavily edited, with numerous alterations throughout, many of which have been subsequently altered. These include corrections of mistakes, changes of style and language, mostly increasing the anglicization, and deletions and rewritings of entire passages either in the margin or on sheets of different sizes that have been subsequently tipped in.

It seems probable that this manuscript was the work of Sir George Douglas of Mordingtoun, assisted by William Douglas, Earl of Angus (later 1st Marquess of Douglas): shortly before his death, between 1630 and 1632, Hume had asked Mordingtoun to see the work through the press.