Definition
An archaic Law French verb meaning "to carry" or "to transport." The term appears in early Year Book entries as a verb of conveyance, describing the physical act of carrying goods, grain, or other property from one place to another. It is the precursor to the modern English legal vocabulary surrounding carriers, carriage of goods, and transportation obligations.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers encountering this term will find it almost exclusively in Year Book materials from the early fourteenth century and in secondary legal dictionaries that draw on that era. The term is not a noun designating a person (as the modern "carrier" is) but a verb in Law French construction. This distinction matters: a researcher searching for doctrinal content about common carriers or carrier liability will not find it under this heading. The term is a linguistic artifact, not a substantive legal category.
The single recorded usage in Burrill — drawn from the Year Books of Henry, 2 Edward II — places this term in a very narrow historical window. Year Book French of this period uses verb infinitives in a way that can mislead researchers unfamiliar with Law French grammatical conventions; "a carier ses bleez" means "to carry his grain," with "bleez" (or blé, grain/wheat) being the object. Understanding this prevents misreading of early agricultural and conveyance disputes, where the verb describes a practical act rather than establishing a legal right or obligation.
Researchers working in early common law property, agrarian disputes, or the history of bailment and carriage law should treat this term as a linguistic waypoint rather than a doctrinal entry point. The substantive law of carriage develops considerably later under recognizable headings such as CARRIER, BAILMENT, and COMMON CARRIER.
Historical Dictionary Support
Burrill's Law Dictionary provides the sole dictionary treatment of this term and keeps it appropriately brief, offering a direct translation ("to carry") and a single Year Book citation: Yearb. H. 2 Edw. II. 27. No other major historical legal dictionaries — not Bouvier, not Black's in its early editions — carry an entry under this spelling, which reflects the term's status as a verb form specific to Law French rather than a term of art in the English common law tradition.
The entry in Burrill is notable precisely for its economy: it does not attempt to connect the verb to broader doctrinal categories, which is the correct approach. Researchers should be cautious of any secondary source that treats "carier" as an independent legal concept rather than a phonological and grammatical feature of Law French pleading records.