Legal Definitions - brevia testata

Brevia testata is a historical legal term from medieval English law. It refers to a type of formal written order, or writ, issued by a higher court.

The purpose of a breve testatum (the singular form) was to acknowledge, confirm, or enforce a judgment or record that had already been established in a lower or inferior court. Essentially, it served to "attest" to the truth or existence of a previous legal proceeding or decision. This mechanism allowed a superior court to act upon the findings of local or specialized courts without having to re-litigate the entire matter from scratch, thereby ensuring that local judgments could be recognized and acted upon by the King's central courts.

• Example 1: Land Dispute Resolution

  Imagine in 14th-century England, a dispute over land boundaries was heard and decided by a local manorial court. One of the parties, perhaps dissatisfied with the outcome or needing to enforce the decision against a powerful neighbor, wished to bring the matter before the King's Royal Courts. They would obtain a breve testatum from the King's Court. This writ would formally present the record of the manorial court's judgment to the royal judges, allowing them to review or enforce the decision based on the attested record from the lower court, rather than requiring the entire land dispute to be re-litigated from the beginning.

• Example 2: Debt Enforcement Across Jurisdictions

  Consider a scenario where a merchant in a medieval town secured a judgment for an unpaid debt against a debtor in the town's borough court. If the debtor then moved to a different county, outside the immediate jurisdiction of the borough court, the merchant would need a way to enforce that judgment in the new location. A breve testatum could be issued by a royal court, acknowledging the validity of the debt judgment from the borough court. This writ would then allow the royal court in the new county to proceed with enforcing the debt, relying on the attested record of the original judgment rather than requiring the merchant to prove the debt again.

• Example 3: Confirming a Local Customary Right

  Suppose a community in a particular region had a long-standing customary right, such as the right to graze livestock on common land, which was formally recognized and recorded by a local hundred court. If this right was later challenged by a powerful lord, the community might seek to have their right affirmed by a royal court. They could present a breve testatum to the royal court, which would formally attest to the existence and validity of the hundred court's record confirming their customary grazing rights. This allowed the royal court to consider and uphold the right based on the established local record, without needing to conduct a full investigation into the custom's history itself.