Legal Definitions - vadium

Historically, vadium referred to a form of security or a pledge, typically involving property, used to guarantee a debt or obligation. It represented an asset given by a borrower to a lender as assurance that a loan would be repaid. This term encompassed two main types of pledges:

• Vadium Mortuum (Dead Pledge)

  This term described a "dead pledge," which is essentially what we now call a mortgage. In this arrangement, a borrower would transfer ownership of property to a lender as security for a loan. If the borrower failed to repay the loan by the agreed-upon time, the property would be permanently lost to them and would belong entirely to the lender. It was considered "dead" to the borrower because they forfeited all rights to it upon default.

  • Example 1: A medieval lord needed funds to finance a new castle wing. He pledged his ancestral hunting grounds to a wealthy baron. The agreement stipulated that if the lord did not repay the loan within ten years, the hunting grounds would become the baron's property forever.

    This is a vadium mortuum because the hunting grounds served as a "dead pledge." If the lord failed to meet the repayment terms, the property would be permanently lost to him, passing entirely to the baron.

• Vadium Vivum (Live Pledge)

  In contrast, a vadium vivum, or "live pledge," was an arrangement where property was also used as security, but with a different outcome. The borrower would grant the lender the right to use the property and collect its profits (such as rents from tenants or harvests from land) until the debt was fully repaid from those proceeds. The property itself was not forfeited; once the debt was satisfied, the property would revert to the borrower. It was "live" because the property actively contributed to paying off the debt, and neither the property nor the money was permanently lost.

  • Example 2: A farmer needed a loan to purchase new livestock. He entered an agreement with a merchant, granting the merchant the right to collect all the profits from his annual wheat harvest for the next five years, or until the loan amount plus interest was fully recovered from those profits, whichever came first. Once the debt was paid, the farmer would regain full control of his harvest income.

    This illustrates a vadium vivum because the wheat harvest acted as a "live pledge." The farm itself was not at risk of being lost; instead, its ongoing profits were used to gradually pay down the debt, after which the property's income stream would return to the original owner.

Less commonly, vadium could also refer to wages or salary, representing the compensation paid for labor or service.

• Example 3: Historical documents might describe a journeyman carpenter receiving his weekly vadium for his skilled work on a cathedral construction project.

  In this context, vadium refers to the regular payment or salary the carpenter earned for his labor, distinct from a property pledge.