A scribe or copyist; someone who wrote professionally. There was always the problem inherent in copying of the transmission of errors, either through lack of attention to the text or through bad writing being mis-read. Authors themselves were always conscious of this potential problem. Chaucer mentions his copyist by name as Adam scriveyn and wishes him a bad case of scurf should he make mistakes. [< OldFr. escrivein = writing]
Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams.