Legal Definitions - vestita manus

Vestita manus is a historical Latin term meaning "vested hand." It refers specifically to the right hand used in a formal ceremony of investiture, which was the act of formally conferring an honor, office, rank, or property. In historical contexts, the vestita manus symbolized the physical instrument through which authority or ownership was officially transferred from one person to another during a public ritual.

• Example 1: Feudal Land Grant

  In medieval Europe, when a lord formally granted a piece of land (a fief) to a vassal, a ceremony often took place. The lord might physically place a small branch, a clod of earth, or a banner into the vassal's outstretched hand as a symbolic representation of the land being transferred.

  The lord's hand, performing this symbolic act of physically transferring a token of the land, would be considered the vestita manus. It was the instrument through which the formal investiture of the fief and the associated duties of loyalty were officially conveyed.

• Example 2: Ecclesiastical Appointment

  During the installation of a new abbot in a monastery, a senior cleric might formally place the abbot's staff (crozier) into the new abbot's right hand, symbolizing his spiritual authority and pastoral duties over the monastic community.

  The senior cleric's hand, performing the ceremonial transfer of the crozier, would be the vestita manus. This act formally invested the new abbot with his ecclesiastical office and its significant responsibilities.

• Example 3: Royal Officer Appointment

  Imagine a historical court where a king formally appointed a new high-ranking official, such as a royal treasurer. The king might extend his hand to present the new treasurer with a ceremonial key or a sealed document, signifying the transfer of financial authority and access to the royal coffers.

  The king's hand, used in this official gesture of conferring the high office and its symbols, would be the vestita manus. It represented the formal act of investiture, granting the treasurer his new powers and duties within the kingdom's administration.