Definition
A Latin phrase meaning "from the side." It appears in two distinct legal contexts:
1. Property and succession law: A latere denotes collateral relationship, as opposed to lineal or direct descent. Heirs a latere are those who inherit from a sideways line — siblings, cousins, and other collateral relatives — rather than from a direct ancestor-to-descendant line.
2. Ecclesiastical law: A legate a latere is a papal representative invested with the full apostolic authority of the pope himself. The phrase signals that the legate acts as though the pope were physically present — "at his side" — with power to act in the pope's name without limitation. This distinguishes the legate a latere from lesser categories of papal envoys whose authority is restricted or delegated only for specific purposes.
Common Confusion
The phrase appears in both property law and canon law contexts, and the two meanings are unrelated. A researcher encountering a latere in a treatise on descent is reading about collateral inheritance; the same phrase in ecclesiastical records refers to papal delegation. Context is dispositive. Some older sources use the phrase loosely to mean "without right" — a third, narrower usage found in Bracton — which is distinct from both primary meanings above.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers working with early English property law and the law of descent will encounter a latere primarily in medieval and early modern sources that rely heavily on Bracton. The term signals collateral succession, which carries different legal consequences than lineal succession: rights of primogeniture, fee tail limitations, and curtesy and dower claims may all turn on whether the heir is lineal or collateral. Misreading a latere as a purely ecclesiastical term in a property context would misdirect research entirely.
For ecclesiastical law researchers, the legate a latere concept matters in understanding the scope of papal authority exercised through representatives — relevant in historical disputes over church jurisdiction in England, pre-Reformation canon law, and the history of the English chancellorship. Burrill notes an early connection between the chancellor's office and ecclesiastical administration, suggesting that the lateral/side-channel metaphor had some conceptual overlap with institutional delegation more broadly, though the connection should not be over-read.
The Bracton usage meaning "without right" is narrow and appears only in specific folios. Researchers relying on Black's should note that the two editions (1st and 2nd) cite slightly different folio references for this usage — fol. 426 versus fol. 42b — reflecting editorial correction between editions. This discrepancy is minor but worth noting when tracing source citations back to Bracton directly.
The term is essentially absent from modern American legal practice. Its primary research value is in reading historical property, inheritance, and ecclesiastical texts accurately.
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's (both editions) and Burrill's are in agreement on the core meaning: a latere means "from the side" and denotes collateral succession in property law. Burrill adds the Law French equivalent — de coste — which may assist researchers working with Norman-French legal records alongside Latin sources. Both Black's editions cite Bracton for the collateral succession meaning and, separately, for the "without right" sense, while also referencing Du Cange for the ecclesiastical legate usage. Burrill does not address the ecclesiastical meaning directly, focusing instead on the descent law application.
Bouvier's entry under this term is unhelpful, redirecting to "Foreign Minister" without explanation — likely a misfiled cross-reference or editorial artifact. Researchers should not rely on Bouvier for this term.
None of the historical dictionaries provide extended analysis. For deeper treatment of the collateral/lineal distinction in historical context, Bracton itself and Coke's commentaries on the law of descent are more instructive than any of the shelf dictionaries.
Jurisdictional Note
As a Latin maxim drawn from medieval common law and canon law, a latere does not vary by American jurisdiction. Its relevance is historical rather than current, and it does not appear in modern statutory frameworks. Researchers in civil law or comparative law contexts should note that analogous concepts of collateral succession are expressed differently in civilian systems.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
The collateral succession meaning connects conceptually to property rights and inheritance frameworks. See: Lateral and Subjacent Support — Natural Right, Liability for Excavation (The Law Mind Property Law Encyclopedia, property_147), though that entry addresses physical lateral rights rather than succession. Researchers focused on the inheritance dimension will find better grounding in encyclopedia entries on descent, intestate succession, and collateral heirs.