Legal Definitions - adiratus

Adiratus is a historical legal term used to describe something that is lost, strayed, or removed from its proper place or owner. It typically referred to property or items that were no longer in their expected location or possession, often implying an involuntary separation from the owner.

Here are some examples illustrating the historical application of adiratus:

• Imagine a 16th-century farmer whose prize sheep wandered away from the pasture and could not be found for several days. In a legal record of the time, the sheep might be described as adiratus, indicating it had strayed from the farmer's control and was no longer within its expected bounds.

  This example illustrates adiratus in the sense of something having "strayed" or wandered off from its rightful place or owner.

• Consider a medieval monastery where a crucial charter granting land rights to the abbot was misplaced during a renovation of the archives. If, after extensive searching, the document remained unlocatable, it would be considered adiratus, signifying that it was "lost" and therefore unavailable for legal verification.

  Here, adiratus highlights an item that is "lost" and cannot be found, impacting its legal utility.

• During an 18th-century probate case, if a valuable piece of furniture, such as a family heirloom cabinet, was taken from the deceased's estate by an unauthorized individual before the inventory was complete, it could be legally described as adiratus. This would mean the cabinet had been "removed" from its rightful place within the estate's assets without proper authority.

  This scenario demonstrates adiratus referring to something that has been "removed" or taken away from its legitimate location or possession.