Definition
De esse in peregrinatione (Latin: "of being on a journey") is a species of essoin — a formal excuse for non-appearance in court — grounded on the pleader's or party's absence due to travel. Under early English common law procedure, a litigant who could not appear at the appointed court day might offer an essoin, and the fact of being on a journey was recognized as a valid ground for that excuse. The essoin de esse in peregrinatione allowed the absent party's representative to present the excuse to the court, which would then grant a continuance or day certain for appearance.
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Common Confusion
De esse in peregrinatione is one of several named essoins in early English law, each tied to a specific ground of absence. It should not be confused with essoin de malo lecti (excuse of illness confining one to bed) or essoin de malo veniendi (excuse of difficulty in traveling, distinct from mere journey absence). The distinctions mattered procedurally: different essoins carried different procedural consequences, evidentiary requirements, and time allowances. Researchers encountering any of these terms in medieval or early modern sources should identify the specific essoin type before inferring procedural effect.
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Why It Matters in Research
This term belongs almost entirely to the history of English common law pleading and procedure. It will appear in sources concerning the medieval and early modern English court system — plea rolls, abridgments, and procedural treatises — and is unlikely to surface in American case law except as a passing historical reference.
The key navigational point: essoin practice was abolished or rendered obsolete in England by procedural reforms, most significantly the reforms of the nineteenth century, and never took firm root in American procedure. A researcher finding this term in primary sources is almost certainly working with pre-reform English materials, likely pre-1800 and often pre-1600.
The Reeves citation (1 Reeve, Eng. Law, 119) present in all three dictionary sources refers to John Reeves's History of the English Law, a standard historical treatment of early common law procedure. That treatise is the natural starting point for understanding essoin practice in context. Researchers should also consult Glanvill and Bracton for the medieval procedural framework in which essoins operated, and Blackstone's Commentaries for a later summary of essoin doctrine.
Because essoin law was highly technical and varied by court (the rules differed in the common pleas, king's bench, and local courts), terms like de esse in peregrinatione cannot be applied uniformly. Court-specific procedural records are necessary to understand the actual effect of the essoin in a given instance.
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Historical Dictionary Support
Black's Law Dictionary (both the first and second editions) and Burrill's Law Dictionary give identical definitions: "of being on a journey," identified as a species of essoin, with a single shared citation to Reeves's History of English Law. The unanimity here reflects less independent scholarship than the term's narrow, settled technical meaning — there was little to dispute. None of the three sources elaborate on the procedural mechanics of the essoin, its time limits, the manner of its presentation, or its consequences if disallowed. Researchers should treat these dictionary entries as orientation only and turn directly to Reeves and the primary plea roll literature for substantive procedural detail. The historical dictionaries do not address the abolition of essoin practice or its non-reception in American law.
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Jurisdictional Note
Essoin practice, including de esse in peregrinatione, was a feature of the English common law courts and did not develop as a distinct procedural doctrine in American jurisdictions. American courts occasionally reference essoins in historical discussion but do not apply essoin rules as operative law.
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