Definition
In old European law, to rob, rifle, or plunder. The term appears in early Germanic legal codes and denotes the act of violent spoliation — taking another's property by force or depredation. It is a term of historical significance only, with no operative meaning in modern law.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers encountering REFFARE in primary sources are almost certainly working with early medieval European legal texts, most likely the Lex Salica (Salic Law) or the laws of Henry I of England. The term surfaces in contexts involving theft, robbery, and the gradations of plunder recognized under early Frankish and Anglo-Saxon-influenced codes, where precise vocabulary distinguished modes of taking property — a distinction carrying serious consequences for penalties assessed.
Because REFFARE belongs to Latin-inflected Germanic legal vocabulary, it will not appear in common law treatises or equity materials. A researcher who encounters it in a post-medieval source should treat that appearance as either antiquarian citation or transcription of an earlier authority, not as evidence of a living legal doctrine.
The connection to the Salic title cited by Burrill (Lex Salica, tit. 29, § 6) places REFFARE within a cluster of property-violation terms that require careful distinction from one another. Researchers working in comparative early law should trace the related term REIF (or REIFF), which Burrill cross-references, as the two concepts occupy neighboring territory in the sources. REIF tends to appear more frequently in Anglo-Saxon and early English materials, making it the more practically searchable term in Law Mind's corpus of English legal history.
Historical Dictionary Support
Burrill's Law Dictionary is the principal English-language legal dictionary source for this term, and its entry is concise but informative. Burrill traces the word to the Saxon root ræfare (to spoil) and cites three independent sources: the Lex Salica, Spelman's Glossarium, and Cowell's Interpreter. This triangulation is useful — it confirms the term was recognized across multiple lexicographic traditions of early European law and was not a hapax legomenon confined to a single document.
Burrill's cross-reference to REIF is the most actionable piece of guidance in the entry. REIF, the more Anglicized form, carries the same basic meaning and is the term more likely to appear in accessible English legal antiquities. Researchers should treat REFFARE and REIF as variants pointing to the same underlying legal concept rather than as independent doctrines.
No other standard historical legal dictionaries in the Law Mind corpus (Black's, Bouvier's, Jacob's) carry a dedicated entry for REFFARE, which underscores its status as a specialized term of early European legal history rather than a fixture of common law vocabulary. Spelman's Glossarium Archaiologicum, cited by Burrill, remains the deepest available reference for the term's usage in historical context, and Cowell's Interpreter provides secondary confirmation from the civilian tradition.
Jurisdictional Note
REFFARE has no jurisdiction in modern law. Its relevance is confined to early medieval European legal systems, principally Frankish law as codified in the Lex Salica and early English royal legislation. It carries no operative force in any contemporary common law or civil law system.