BSL Myths.

A recent 'SEE HEAR' news item, stated BSL existed in the 17thc, however AI says not so, signs  existed, but there was no organised language set up, it was completely random.

What they said:

Sign Language first started to develop in the early 18th century when a man named Thomas Braidwood opened the first school for the deaf in Britain in 1760. However, the origins of signing can be traced back even further to the 16th century when deaf people in Britain were known to use various forms of sign language to communicate. 

Did BSL have a recognised language status or dictionary?

British Sign Language (BSL) did not have a recognized language status or dictionary until much later. In 1976, the British Deaf Association published the first BSL dictionary, which helped to standardize and document the language. 

It was not until 2003 that BSL was officially recognized as a language in its own right by the UK government. That was introduced via the UK's membership of the European Union, (Which the UK has left), regarding 'minority languages' but had no legal enforcement, and it was left to individual european governments to legislate.  It is still not recognised as a language for teaching deaf children in the UK.

Clearly the BSL promoters need to publish facts as AI does.  Sign usage and its recognition as a language with a recognised language format didn't exist.