Definition
An archaic Law French term meaning "brought," "led away," or "carried away." Used in early common law pleading and records to describe the act of taking or conveying a person or thing from one place to another. The term functions as a past participial descriptor, typically appearing in the context of actions involving the removal of persons or property.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers encountering this term will find it almost exclusively in medieval and early modern English legal records, plea rolls, and year books — sources predating systematic English-language legal writing. Its appearance signals a document of considerable antiquity, likely originating before the gradual displacement of Law French from English legal practice in the late seventeenth century (completed by statute in 1731 under 4 Geo. 2, c. 26).
The primary research trap is misreading the term as a proper name or place name. In manuscript sources, *amesna* appears without contextual scaffolding, and researchers unfamiliar with Law French participial constructions may pass over it or misidentify it. Its connection to *amesner* (the verb form) is essential: understanding the entry requires following the cross-reference, as the noun and verb forms illuminate each other. Burrill's own instruction to "See Amesner" reflects this dependency.
Researchers working with translated or abstracted records should be alert to inconsistent renderings. Transcribers have variously rendered Law French participial forms as English equivalents ("carried away," "taken hence") without flagging the original term, which can obscure the precise legal context — particularly in cases touching on abduction, forcible removal, or distraint.
Historical Dictionary Support
Burrill's Law Dictionary provides the sole entry in the Law Mind corpus for this term, defining it concisely as "[L. Fr.] Brought; led or carried away" and directing readers to the related verb *amesner*. This is consistent with the standard treatment of Law French participial forms in nineteenth-century legal dictionaries, which typically identified the language of origin, supplied an English gloss, and cross-referenced the root verb rather than expanding the definition independently.
No other shelf sources in the corpus treat *amesna* as a standalone entry, which itself reflects the term's narrow circulation. Its absence from later dictionaries — including those of the twentieth century — confirms that it did not survive into modern legal usage even as a term of art. Researchers should not expect to find it in Black's Law Dictionary or any post-Law French era source without deliberate reference to historical usage.