Legal Definitions - legruita

Legruita

Legruita refers to an ancient feudalfine or penalty that a lord could impose on a female serf or tenant who was found to have engaged in sexual activity outside of marriage, such as fornication or adultery. This was a specific right held by the lord over his dependents during the feudal period, reflecting the extensive social and legal control exercised within his domain. Essentially, it was a payment made to the lord as a penalty for perceived moral transgressions by women under his authority.

Examples:

• Imagine a medieval manor where a young woman named Elara works the lord's fields. As a serf, she is tied to the land and falls under the lord's direct authority. If Elara were discovered to have had a child out of wedlock, her lord might impose a legruita upon her.

  This illustrates legruita because Elara, as a female serf, is subject to the lord's jurisdiction, and her perceived moral transgression (fornication) would trigger the lord's right to levy this specific fine, which would be paid directly to him.

• Consider a scenario in 13th-century England where a lord owned a village. One of his female tenants, Agnes, a widow who held a small plot of land, was accused by a neighbor of having an affair with a man from a neighboring village. If the lord's court found this accusation to be true, he could demand a payment from Agnes as a legruita.

  Here, Agnes, as a female tenant under the lord's feudal authority, would be subject to the legruita for adultery. The fine would be paid directly to her lord, demonstrating his power to penalize such actions within his domain and collect revenue from them.