Definition
Roberia is a Latin term from old English law meaning robbery. The word appears in medieval legal records and treatises as the Latin designation for the act of robbery — the taking of property from a person by force or threat of force. It was used in formal legal contexts to describe both the offense itself and the manner or character of a robber's conduct. The related phrase in robberia, drawn from Bracton, means "in robbery" or "in the manner of a robber."
Common Confusion
Roberia is sometimes encountered alongside references to Roberdsmen (also spelled Robersmen), a distinct term referring to a class of violent offenders who operated on the Anglo-Scottish border during the reign of Richard I. Though etymologically linked in the sources — Blackstone and Coke both associate Roberdsmen with the followers of Robert Hood, or Robin Hood — the two terms are not synonymous. Roberia names the legal offense; Roberdsmen names a specific historical population of offenders associated with that offense. Researchers encountering either term in a medieval or early modern source should treat them as separate entries.
Why It Matters in Research
Roberia is a term a researcher will encounter almost exclusively in Latin legal records, plea rolls, or treatises from the medieval English period — particularly in Bracton's De Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae, where the term appears in the treatment of serious felonies. It is not a term of modern legal practice and will not appear in contemporary statutes or case law.
The primary research trap is translation: roberia can be passed over or mistranslated by researchers unfamiliar with Law Latin, particularly since the English word "robbery" does not always signal the same doctrinal boundaries across historical periods. The medieval conception of roberia carried its own set of elements and distinctions that do not map cleanly onto modern robbery doctrine.
Bracton's folio 146, cited by Burrill, is the anchor text. Researchers working in medieval criminal law or tracing the doctrinal lineage of robbery from Roman and Norman-influenced English law will need to consult Bracton directly, as Burrill's entry is thin and the surrounding doctrinal context is not recoverable from dictionary sources alone.
The Roberdsmen reference embedded in Burrill's entry under the same heading is worth flagging: it reflects an old editorial practice of grouping related material without clearly demarcating separate terms. The Roberdsmen were addressed by statute and discussed by both Coke (3 Institutes) and Blackstone (4 Commentaries, 245), but their relevance is historical and sociological rather than doctrinal. A researcher following the Roberdsmen thread should consult those primary sources directly rather than relying on the brief note in Burrill.
Historical Dictionary Support
Burrill's Law Dictionary provides the foundational entry for this term in the Law Mind corpus, and it is a sparse one. Burrill defines roberia straightforwardly as robbery in old English law, cites the Latin phrase in robberia, and anchors the usage to Bracton. No further analysis of elements or doctrinal treatment is provided.
The entry does not distinguish roberia from related Latin terms such as latrocinium (theft or brigandage, sometimes used interchangeably in continental sources) or depredatio, nor does it trace how roberia relates to the felony classifications in medieval English law. Researchers needing that level of analysis will find Burrill insufficient and should turn to Bracton's own text or to modern scholarship on medieval English criminal law.
The Roberdsmen note reflects Burrill's practice of including related historical matter in a single entry. The attribution to followers of Robin Hood is taken from Blackstone and Coke, not from independent documentation, and should be understood as received tradition rather than established historical fact.
Jurisdictional Note
Roberia is a term of old English law and has no application in modern American, English, or Commonwealth legal practice. Its relevance is confined to medieval and early modern English legal history, and jurisdictional variation in the modern sense is not applicable.