Legal Definitions - wacreour

Wacreour is a historical legal term that refers to a person who was considered a vagrant.

In historical legal contexts, particularly in medieval and early modern English law, a wacreour was someone who wandered from place to place without a fixed home, regular employment, or visible means of support. Such individuals were often viewed with suspicion and could be subject to legal penalties, as their lack of a settled place in society was seen as a potential threat to order and stability.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of a wacreour:

• Imagine a peasant in 14th-century England whose village was devastated by a famine, leaving them without family, land, or a lord to serve. Forced to leave their ruined home, they might travel from one market town to another, seeking odd jobs or charity to survive. This individual, lacking a fixed residence or recognized occupation, would likely have been considered a wacreour under the law, potentially facing arrest for vagrancy.

• Consider a former soldier returning from a distant war in the 15th century, finding their family dispersed and their previous trade taken up by others. With no immediate prospects or a place to call home, they might wander the countryside, relying on alms or temporary labor. Such a person, adrift from the established social structure and without a clear place of abode, would fit the description of a wacreour, subject to laws designed to control the movement of the poor and landless.

• During periods of economic hardship in early modern Europe, a craftsman who lost their workshop and tools due to debt might be forced to abandon their trade and travel between cities, hoping to find new patronage or work. If they were found without a clear master, guild affiliation, or a permanent dwelling, they could be apprehended as a wacreour, as their unsettled status was often legally indistinguishable from that of a beggar or a potential troublemaker.