Definition
RIE is a Latin abbreviation used in old English legal practice, derived from the Latin *rie* (sometimes expanded in context as *sine consideratione curiae* or similar formulations), meaning "without the consideration of the court" or "without judgment." It appears in medieval procedural contexts to denote an act or disposition taken outside the formal adjudicative process of a court — that is, a matter concluded or returned by a party's own volition rather than by judicial determination.
Burrill records two distinct senses:
1. Without the consideration of the court; without judgment. Used in old practice to describe a disposition or outcome that bypassed formal court consideration. Cited to the Statute of Marlborough (1267) as referenced in Fleta, lib. 2, c. 47, § 13.
2. Taking it back. In this sense, *rie* describes the voluntary act of a party in withdrawing or reclaiming something within that party's own discretion — as distinguished from a compelled return ordered by the court.
Both senses share a common thread: the absence of judicial compulsion or formal court process. The term is a procedural marker distinguishing party-driven acts from court-driven outcomes.
Common Confusion
The two senses recorded by Burrill are related but not identical. The first sense is primarily descriptive of a procedural posture — an action taken outside court consideration. The second is operative — it describes the affirmative act of taking something back. A researcher encountering *rie* in a medieval text should determine from context whether it signals the absence of court judgment (sense 1) or characterizes the voluntary nature of a party's withdrawal or reacquisition (sense 2). Conflating them can distort the procedural meaning of the source passage.
Why It Matters in Research
This term is effectively a dead term in modern legal usage and will appear only in medieval English legal texts, Year Books, Latin legal records, and treatises drawing on those sources. Several research cautions apply:
**Locating the term in context.** *Rie* is an abbreviated or contracted Latin form. In manuscript sources and early printed editions it may appear without expansion, requiring the researcher to infer meaning from procedural context. Burrill's two entries — listed separately — suggest the term had enough currency in secondary sources to warrant dual treatment, but it is not common even in historical digests.
**The Fleta citation.** Burrill's primary authority for sense 1 is the Statute of Marlborough (52 Hen. 3, 1267) as cited in Fleta, a late-thirteenth-century legal treatise. Fleta is available in scholarly editions and is the natural next stop for a researcher seeking to understand the procedural setting in which *rie* operated. The relevant passage (lib. 2, c. 47, § 13) concerns distress and replevin-adjacent procedures — context that matters for interpreting the "taking it back" sense.
**Discretion versus compulsion.** Burrill's note that *rie* is "properly expressive of the voluntary act of a party in matters within his discretion" is analytically significant. In medieval English procedure, the distinction between a party's voluntary act and a court-ordered act carried real consequences for rights, remedies, and subsequent pleading. A researcher working on replevin, distress, or related forms of action should note whether *rie* is used to characterize voluntariness — which would bear on whether a subsequent claim of right could be maintained.
**Not to be confused with modern initialisms.** RIE as an acronym (reactive ion etching; "resources for infant educarers") is entirely unrelated to this legal term. Any encounter with "RIE" in a legal research context outside medieval or early modern sources almost certainly refers to something else entirely.
Historical Dictionary Support
Burrill is the only historical legal dictionary source available for this term, and his two entries are brief. The first draws on the Fleta passage and the Statute of Marlborough to establish procedural meaning; the second adds the "taking it back" gloss with an emphasis on voluntariness and party discretion. Together, the entries suggest *rie* was used in the specific procedural context of self-help or party-driven acts (such as retaking distrained goods) that did not pass through formal judicial determination.
No entry appears in Black's Law Dictionary, Bouvier's Law Dictionary, or other standard historical dictionaries consulted, which underscores that this was a specialized term of medieval Latin practice rather than a term with ongoing vitality in the common law tradition. Researchers should treat Burrill's entries as a starting point and consult Fleta directly for the operative context.
Jurisdictional Note
This term is specific to the historical English legal system and its Latin procedural vocabulary. It has no recognized equivalent in American, Scottish, or civilian legal traditions.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
See Law Mind Encyclopedia — Medieval English Law; Distress and Replevin (Historical); Fleta and the Medieval Treatise Tradition