Legal Definitions - essendi quietum de tolonio

The Latin term essendi quietum de tolonio refers to a historical legal document, known as a writ, that was issued to confirm an individual's right to be exempt from paying a specific toll. This right typically arose from either a formal grant (a charter) or from long-standing, undisputed custom (prescription).

In essence, if a person, or a group of people, had a recognized privilege not to pay a particular fee for passage or use (a toll), and that privilege was challenged, they could seek this writ to legally enforce their exemption.

• Example 1: A Town's Chartered Exemption

  Imagine a medieval town whose royal charter, granted centuries ago, explicitly stated that all its residents were exempt from paying tolls at the main bridge leading into the nearby market city. If a resident, say a baker transporting bread to sell, was stopped at the bridge by a new toll collector who demanded payment, the baker could assert their town's chartered right. If the collector refused to acknowledge it, the baker's community could have sought an essendi quietum de tolonio writ. This writ would serve as a formal legal order confirming the town's exemption and compelling the toll collector to allow the baker to pass without charge, based on the ancient charter.

• Example 2: A Merchant Guild's Prescriptive Right

  Consider a powerful guild of textile merchants in a specific region who, for generations, had transported their goods along a particular river without paying the standard ferry toll. This practice was so old and consistently observed that it had become a recognized custom, even if the original charter granting the right was lost or never formally existed (a right by prescription). If a new feudal lord acquired control of the ferry and attempted to impose a toll on these merchants, they could invoke their long-standing exemption. An essendi quietum de tolonio writ would be the legal instrument used to formally recognize and enforce their customary right to be free from that specific toll, protecting their established trade route.

• Example 3: A Noble Family's Royal Privilege

  Picture a noble family whose ancestors had performed significant service to the crown, and as a reward, were granted a specific royal privilege (a form of charter) exempting them and their household from tolls on all royal roads within a certain county. If a member of this family, perhaps a steward traveling with supplies for the estate, encountered a toll collector on a royal road who was unaware of or disputed this ancient privilege, they could present their claim. If the dispute escalated, the family could petition for an essendi quietum de tolonio writ. This writ would legally affirm their chartered exemption, ensuring they could continue to travel the royal roads in that county without paying tolls.