Legal Definitions - excommunicato recapiendo

Excommunicato Recapiendo

The term excommunicato recapiendo refers to a historical legal order issued by an ecclesiastical (church) court. This writ commanded that an individual who had been excommunicated from the church, imprisoned for their persistent defiance of church authority, and then unlawfully released, should be located, re-arrested, and returned to prison. The purpose was to ensure they remained incarcerated until they agreed to submit to the church's demands.

• Example 1: A powerful baron, Lord Reginald, was excommunicated for refusing to acknowledge the Pope's authority over his lands and for seizing church property. After a period of defiance, he was eventually imprisoned by order of the ecclesiastical court. However, his loyal knights forcibly broke him out of the prison before he had made any agreement to submit to the church.

  In this situation, an excommunicato recapiendo would have been issued. It would have commanded the relevant secular authorities to find Lord Reginald, apprehend him, and return him to prison, ensuring he remained there until he formally submitted to the church's authority and repented for his actions.

• Example 2: Sister Agnes, a nun, was excommunicated for publicly questioning established church dogma and refusing to recant her theological views, which were deemed heretical. She was subsequently imprisoned in a convent dungeon. A sympathetic local magistrate, believing her imprisonment unjust, secretly arranged for her release without the church's consent or her submission.

  The church court, upon discovering Sister Agnes's unauthorized release, would have issued an excommunicato recapiendo. This writ would have legally compelled the secular authorities to track her down and return her to ecclesiastical custody, where she would remain imprisoned until she either recanted her views or faced further church judgment.

• Example 3: A merchant named Thomas was excommunicated for repeatedly slandering the local bishop and inciting parishioners to disregard church fasts. He was arrested and confined to the town's gaol by order of the church court. Before he could be persuaded to confess or submit, a riot broke out in the town, and during the chaos, Thomas was freed from his cell by a sympathetic crowd.

  An excommunicato recapiendo would have been the legal instrument used by the church in this case. It would have been directed to the civil authorities, ordering them to actively search for Thomas, re-arrest him, and place him back in prison. This action would ensure that the church's authority was upheld and that Thomas remained incarcerated until he formally agreed to comply with the church's demands.