Definition
In old English and ecclesiastical law, *valor* (Latin: *valor*, from *valere*, to be worth) means value, worth, or a formal valuation — particularly a rated assessment of the worth of property, income, or a benefice. The term appears most prominently in English legal history in two contexts:
1. **General valuation sense.** *Valor* denotes the assessed worth or rate of any property or thing subject to legal evaluation. It is the root of the still-current phrase *ad valorem* ("according to value"), used in tax and duty contexts to describe levies calculated as a percentage of assessed worth rather than a fixed amount.
2. **Ecclesiastical valuation sense.** In English ecclesiastical law, *Valor Beneficiorum* refers to a formal rate or valuation of church benefices and spiritual preferments — assessments of the income and worth of livings held by clergy. The most historically significant instance is the *Valor Ecclesiasticus* of 1535, the survey ordered by Henry VIII to assess the income of all ecclesiastical property in England and Wales, which served as the basis for the dissolution of the monasteries and the taxation of the clergy.
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Common Language
**Modern common usage (Wiktionary):** The U.S. standard spelling of *valour*; courage or bravery, especially in the face of danger.
**Historical common usage (Webster's 1913):** Primarily "strength of mind in regard to danger; personal bravery; courage; prowess; intrepidity." Webster's notes the older meaning of "value; worth" as obsolete, citing Sir Thomas More: "the valor of a penny."
The gap is significant. In modern English, *valor* means courage — a moral and martial quality. In legal and historical sources, it means *value* or *worth* in a strictly economic and administrative sense. A researcher encountering *valor* in an old English legal document, ecclesiastical record, or Latin text should not interpret it as a reference to bravery. The legal meaning had already fallen out of common usage by the time Webster's 1913 marked it obsolete.
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Why It Matters in Research
Researchers working in pre-modern English legal materials, ecclesiastical records, or Latin legal texts will encounter *valor* in its economic sense regularly — and the risk of misreading it as the common English word for courage is real, especially in documents that mix Latin legal terms with English narrative.
**Key navigational points:**
- *Ad valorem* is the most likely form researchers will encounter in modern primary sources. It remains active in tax law, customs and duties, and property assessment contexts. Understanding its root in the legal meaning of *valor* clarifies the phrase.
- *Valor Beneficiorum* and *Valor Ecclesiasticus* are distinct but related terms. Researchers investigating English church history, the Henrician Reformation, or the history of ecclesiastical taxation will need to distinguish between the general concept (a valuation of benefices) and the specific 1535 survey. Burrill's entry does not draw this distinction sharply.
- The Latin phrase structure (*Valor* + genitive noun) is a recurring pattern in ecclesiastical and administrative records. Researchers should be alert to variants beyond the two forms Burrill identifies.
- *Valecta*, *Valetta*, and *Valettus* appear in the same entry cluster in Burrill's and are unrelated in meaning — they derive from the French *valet* (a body-servant). Do not conflate these with valor-derived terms despite proximity in alphabetical arrangement.
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Historical Dictionary Support
Burrill's Law Dictionary treats *valor* economically and correctly: value, worth, rate, valuation. The entry is brief but accurate for its period, and Burrill flags *ad valorem* as the phrase that survived into modern usage. The entry's cross-reference to *Valor Beneficiorum* is useful, though it conflates the general ecclesiastical valuation concept with what researchers may need to identify as the specific 1535 survey.
Webster's 1913 is explicit that the meaning "value; worth" was already obsolete in common English by the nineteenth century, which explains why the legal meaning can so easily be overlooked by researchers approaching older materials through a modern English lens.
No modern legal dictionary of general circulation (Black's, Bouvier's in later editions) gives *valor* a standalone entry — a sign that the term's legal life is essentially historical and ecclesiastical, surviving actively only in *ad valorem*.
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Jurisdictional Note
*Valor* in the legal sense is primarily relevant to English legal history and ecclesiastical law. Its legacy in U.S. law is confined to the phrase *ad valorem*, which appears extensively in American tax statutes and constitutional provisions governing taxation. Researchers working in civil law jurisdictions may encounter cognates in Latin-derived legal systems, but the specific ecclesiastical usage is an English common law phenomenon.
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Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
See Law Mind Encyclopedia — Ecclesiastical Property (for *Valor Beneficiorum* and the assessment of church livings); Taxation and Assessment (for *ad valorem* and the valuation framework in tax law).
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