Legal Definitions - de apostata capiendo

de apostata capiendo

De apostata capiendo refers to a historical legal writ, or court order, issued in medieval England. This writ commanded a sheriff to locate, apprehend, and return an individual to a monastery or other religious institution if that person had previously taken solemn religious vows within that institution but had subsequently abandoned their monastic life and was found wandering outside its confines. It essentially served as a legal mechanism to enforce the commitment made by individuals to religious orders.

• Example 1: After several years of dedicated service and having taken perpetual vows at St. Benedict's Abbey, Brother Michael became disillusioned with monastic life. One evening, he quietly slipped away from the abbey, shedding his habit and attempting to blend into the general populace of a nearby town, seeking work as a scribe. Upon discovering Brother Michael's departure and whereabouts, the Abbot of St. Benedict's could have petitioned the local court for a de apostata capiendo writ.

  This example illustrates the writ's application to a monk who had formally committed to a religious order but then abandoned his vows and left the monastery, prompting the ecclesiastical authorities to seek his legal return.

• Example 2: Sister Eleanor, having professed her vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, found herself struggling with the strictures of convent life. She secretly left the convent, traveling to a distant county where she attempted to live anonymously, hoping to start a new life. When the Mother Superior of the convent learned of Sister Eleanor's location through a visiting merchant, she could have sought a de apostata capiendo writ to have the local sheriff bring Sister Eleanor back to the convent to fulfill her religious obligations.

  Here, the writ is applied to a nun who broke her solemn vows and left her religious community, demonstrating its use across different types of monastic institutions and its enforcement by secular legal officials.

• Example 3: A young man named Thomas joined a mendicant friary, taking vows to live a life of poverty and service. After a few months, he grew restless and decided to abandon his order, choosing instead to wander from village to village, begging for food and shelter without any affiliation. The head of his former friary, concerned about Thomas's broken vows and the potential scandal to the order, could have requested a de apostata capiendo writ. This writ would then be executed by the sheriff, a secular official, to locate Thomas and return him to the friary for discipline and to resume his vows.

  This scenario highlights the involvement of secular legal authority (the sheriff) in enforcing religious commitments through the writ, compelling the return of an individual who had abandoned their sworn duties to a religious order.