Legal Definitions - Abbreviatio Placitorum

Abbreviatio Placitorum refers to a significant historical legal document that contains summaries of legal arguments and decisions from English courts during the 12th to 14th centuries. These summaries were compiled much later, in the 17th century, and subsequently printed in the 19th century, serving as a condensed record of medieval legal proceedings. Essentially, it's a collection of abstracts taken from the original, extensive court rolls of the King's Court (Curia Regis), Parliament, and other common-law courts of that era, making the vast historical legal records more manageable for study and reference.

• Example 1: Legal Historian Researching Property Law
  A legal historian is researching the evolution of property rights and land disputes in England during the 13th century. Instead of sifting through thousands of original, often damaged and difficult-to-read parchment rolls from various medieval courts, they might consult the Abbreviatio Placitorum. This document would provide them with concise summaries of numerous cases involving land ownership, inheritance, and tenancy, allowing them to quickly identify relevant legal principles and trace their development without having to decipher every single original record. The summaries would highlight the core arguments and decisions, guiding their deeper research.
• Example 2: Scholar Studying Early Parliamentary Powers
  A scholar focused on the early development of the English Parliament's judicial functions might turn to the Abbreviatio Placitorum. The compilation includes abstracts of pleas brought before Parliament in the 14th century. By examining these summaries, the scholar could gain insight into the types of legal petitions and disputes that Parliament handled, how it interacted with other courts, and the nascent stages of its role in resolving legal matters, thereby understanding the historical scope of its authority.
• Example 3: Genealogist Tracing Medieval Family Disputes
  A genealogist is attempting to trace the lineage and landholdings of a prominent family involved in a significant legal dispute in a specific English county during the 12th century. While the Abbreviatio Placitorum wouldn't contain every minute detail, it could provide a crucial summary of the key arguments, the parties involved, and the court's ultimate decision. This information could serve as a vital starting point or confirmation for their research, helping them to pinpoint specific original court rolls or other historical documents that might contain more exhaustive details about the family's legal entanglements and property.