† trailbastonn.

One of a class of violent evil-doers in the reign of Edward I, who, as brigands or hired ruffians, bludgeoned, maltreated, and robbed the king's lieges, during his absence or absorption in foreign wars; also applied to their system of violence, for the suppression of which special justices were instituted in 1304–5; thence contextually applied also to the ordinances issued against them (ordinatio de trailbastons), and to the inquisitions, trials, courts, and justices (justices sur les traylbastouns, justices for or of trailbaston), appointed for their suppression. In living use from 1304 to c1390; afterwards only a historical term, often misunderstood.Evidence of the original application of traille-baston to the offenders is chiefly supplied by Anglo-Norman and Latin writings, difficult to epitomize here. They may be seen in full in E. Foss Judges of Eng. vol. III. 28–36 (1851), and F. M. Nichols Orig. Docmts. illustr. Criminal Law, time of Edw. I, in Archaeologia vol. XL (1866). The transference of the name of an offence to the legal process dealing with it, and even to its penalty, is a well-known phenomenon in the history of legal terms. In the 17th cent. and later, many guesses were made at the origin of the name; thus the Justices of Trailbaston were fabled to be so called from their ‘carrying the staff of justice’, and by Coke, ‘because they proceeded as speedily as one might draw a staff’.