Legal Definitions - falsare

Falsare is a historical legal term referring to the act of creating something false or misleading with the intent to deceive. It encompasses both the act of counterfeiting, which involves making an imitation of something genuine, and falsifying, which means altering or misrepresenting facts or records.

Here are some examples illustrating the historical application of "falsare":

• Imagine a medieval scribe tasked with copying official royal decrees. If this scribe were to falsare a decree by creating a forged version of a royal order, complete with an imitation of the king's seal, to grant himself land or privileges he wasn't entitled to, he would be committing an act of falsare.

  This illustrates falsare as the act of counterfeiting a document, specifically creating a fraudulent paper that appears authentic and official to achieve a deceptive purpose.

• Consider a historical merchant during an era when detailed ledgers were kept for trade and taxation. If this merchant were to falsare his accounting books by deliberately altering entries to show fewer goods sold or lower profits, thereby evading taxes owed to the local lord or monarch, this would be an instance of falsare.

  This demonstrates falsare as the act of falsifying records, specifically manipulating financial data to deceive authorities and avoid obligations.

• In an ancient marketplace, if a craftsman were to falsare coins by producing fake currency made of cheaper metals but designed to look exactly like official coinage, or if a vendor were to falsare valuable spices by mixing them with common, less valuable substances to increase their volume and profit, both actions would fall under the historical meaning of falsare.

  This example shows falsare in the context of counterfeiting physical items (currency) or adulterating goods, both intended to defraud buyers or the state.