Definition
A Latinized place name appearing in medieval legal texts, referring to the French province of Anjou. The term appears in the preamble to Magna Carta, where it forms part of the royal style of King John, who held the title Count of Anjou as part of his Angevin dominions. It carries no substantive legal meaning of its own; it functions as a geographic and dynastic identifier in formal Latin legal instruments.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers will encounter ANDIGAVIA almost exclusively in the context of medieval Latin transcriptions of Magna Carta and related royal charters. Its relevance is purely textual: recognizing the term prevents misreading or misidentifying a word in primary source documents. A researcher unfamiliar with the term might mistake it for a legal concept rather than a place name embedded in formal royal titulature.
Because Magna Carta exists in multiple versions (1215, 1216, 1217, 1225) and was copied, translated, and reprinted across centuries, the precise phrasing of the preamble — including ANDIGAVIA — varies across transcriptions. Some editions Anglicize or omit the Latin forms of the territorial titles. Cross-referencing against authoritative Latin editions is advisable before relying on any particular transcription.
The term has no application outside the Magna Carta tradition and the immediate corpus of Angevin-era royal instruments. It will not appear in case law, statute, or modern legal commentary except as a historical reference.
Historical Dictionary Support
Burrill's Law Dictionary provides the sole entry among major historical legal dictionaries, and it is brief: "L. Lat. Anjou in France. Magna Charta, in pr." This entry does exactly what a good glossatorial note should — it identifies the term, gives its vernacular equivalent, and pinpoints the source. There is nothing to quarrel with in Burrill's treatment, but there is also nothing to expand upon from a legal standpoint. The entry is a reading aid for a Latin text, not an exposition of legal doctrine.
No other major historical legal dictionary — not Black's, not Bouvier's, not Jacob's — appears to have treated the term, which is consistent with its status as a proper noun rather than a term of art.