Legal Definitions - manucaptio

Manucaptio (man-yuh-kap-shuh-oh) is a legal term used in history. It has two meanings:

1. Surety, security, or bail.
2. A writ that allows a person to be admitted to bail when they have been arrested for a felony but cannot be admitted to bail by the sheriff.

Mainprise (mayn-prize) is a related term that means:

1. The delivery of a prisoner to the mainpernor.
2. A suretyship undertaking that makes the surety responsible for a prisoner's appearance in court on a specified date and time.
3. A writ ordering the sheriff to release a prisoner after taking security for the prisoner's appearance.

For example, if someone is arrested for a crime, they may need to provide manucaptio or mainprise to be released from jail until their trial. This means that someone else (a surety or mainpernor) promises to pay a certain amount of money if the accused person does not show up for their court date.

Another example is if a person is arrested for a felony and the sheriff cannot release them on bail, they may be able to get a writ of manucaptio to be released on bail.

These examples illustrate how manucaptio and mainprise were used in history to ensure that accused persons showed up for their court dates and to provide a way for them to be released from jail before their trial.