Definition
SALUTE carries two distinct legal meanings, separated by subject matter and era.
1. (Historical coinage) A gold coin minted by Henry V of England following his conquests in France, bearing the arms of England and France quartered on its face. The coin takes its name from the image stamped upon it — the Annunciation scene, in which the Angel Gabriel salutes the Virgin Mary. Its legal significance is primarily as a unit of monetary denomination in medieval and early post-medieval legal instruments, property conveyances, and French territorial arrangements under English rule.
2. (Military and naval ceremony) A formal act of honor or respect rendered by troops, naval vessels, or officers to distinguished persons, sovereign flags, or on ceremonial occasions. In the military and naval law context, the salute governs questions of international courtesy between warships, protocol obligations upon entering foreign ports, and the recognition of authority between military ranks. Failure to render or return a proper salute between vessels could carry diplomatic and legal implications under the law of nations.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): A gesture expressing greeting or honor, especially a formal non-verbal gesture made with the arms or hands in a specific position; also a discharge of cannon as a mark of honor; a kiss offered in salutation.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): To address with expressions of kind wishes; to greet or hail; to honor a person or nation by discharge of cannon or by dipping colors.
The gap between common and legal meaning runs in two directions. The ceremonial sense is largely continuous between common and legal usage — the legal dimension adds precision around obligation, protocol, and international consequence. The coinage sense, however, has no common-language parallel today; a researcher encountering "salute" in a medieval English or Anglo-French legal document must recognize the monetary denomination immediately and not read it as a ceremonial act.
Recognized Forms
/SUBTYPES
Gun salute / salute by cannon: The discharge of firearms or artillery as a formal honor, regulated under naval custom and the law of nations. The number of guns fired signaled the rank of the dignitary being honored and the seriousness of the recognition.
Salute by dipping colors: A naval vessel's lowering of its flag as a mark of deference, with recognized rules governing which vessels were obligated to salute first and which were entitled to receive the salute.
Salute (coinage): The gold coin of Henry V, distinct from other contemporaneous English and French gold coinage by its quartered arms design.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers working in medieval English legal records, especially those touching on Henry V's French territories (roughly 1415–1422) and the Treaty of Troyes period, may encounter "salute" as a monetary denomination. Confusing it with the ceremonial meaning produces nonsensical readings. Cowell's Interpreter, cited by all major historical dictionaries here, is the key reference for the coinage meaning.
In the naval and military law context, the salute appears in sources dealing with the law of nations, maritime sovereignty, and port entry protocols. Bouvier explicitly connects arrival at foreign ports to the rendering of salutes — this is a live question in historical admiralty records and diplomatic correspondence. Researchers tracing sovereignty disputes or incidents at sea in the 17th through 19th centuries should watch for "salute" as a legally charged term with consequences for national honor and diplomatic relations.
The two meanings do not overlap in any meaningful way, and the coinage meaning is essentially dead in modern usage. Post-19th century sources using "salute" in a legal or quasi-legal context almost certainly intend the ceremonial sense.
Historical Dictionary Support
All four source dictionaries agree on the coinage definition and trace it to the same authority — Cowell's Interpreter — with Burrill adding a citation to Stow's Chronicle. This uniformity signals a stable, well-settled historical meaning with a narrow documentary basis. None of the dictionaries add interpretive nuance on the coinage; they reproduce Cowell.
Bouvier alone extends the entry into the military and naval ceremonial sphere, drawing on the Century Dictionary and noting the specific context of a man-of-war arriving in a foreign port. This is the more jurisprudentially active definition, but the historical legal dictionaries give it less systematic treatment than its practical significance warrants. Researchers should not mistake the thin dictionary coverage for thin legal importance: salute protocols were taken seriously under 18th and 19th century law of nations doctrine.
Black's (both editions) omit the ceremonial dimension entirely, focusing only on the coin. This is a meaningful gap for naval law researchers relying primarily on Black's.
Jurisdictional Note
The coinage definition is specific to English and Anglo-French legal history and has no application in American law. The ceremonial and naval salute has significance in international law and admiralty contexts that transcend any single jurisdiction; specific obligations varied by treaty, custom, and the flag of the vessel involved.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
Law Mind Encyclopedia — Naval and Military Ceremonial Law
Law Mind Encyclopedia — Medieval English Coinage and Monetary Denominations
Law Mind Encyclopedia — Law of Nations: Maritime Sovereignty and Port Protocol