Legal Definitions - gilour

Gilour was a historical legal term used to describe an individual who engaged in deceitful practices, particularly by misrepresenting goods or services to defraud others. It referred to a person who cheated, swindled, or acted fraudulently, often in commercial transactions, by selling false or inferior items under the guise of being genuine or high-quality.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of a gilour:

• Imagine a medieval baker who consistently mixed sawdust into his flour to reduce costs, then sold the bread at the full price of pure wheat bread. This baker would be considered a gilour because he was intentionally deceiving his customers about the true ingredients and quality of his product for financial gain.

• Consider a traveling merchant who sold ordinary glass trinkets, claiming they were rare gemstones from exotic lands, and charged exorbitant prices based on this false representation. This merchant would be acting as a gilour by misrepresenting the nature and value of his goods to cheat buyers.

• Picture a craftsman who promised to build a sturdy wooden chest using fine oak, but secretly used cheaper, less durable pine for most of the construction, then charged the client for the more expensive oak chest. This craftsman would be a gilour because he deliberately misled his client about the materials used and the quality of the workmanship.