Also known as: leucas · leucæ · league · leuga
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
3 senses
A unit of distance consisting of 1,500 paces.
A unit of distance consisting of 1,000 paces.
A privileged space of one mile around a monastery.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
A unit of distance consisting of 1,500 paces.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A unit of distance consisting of 1,000 paces.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A privileged space of one mile around a monastery.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Lucy Liu measured the disputed border between two French estates using the leuca of 1,500 paces. The court accepted her calculation and fixed the boundary accordingly. The larger unit resolved the ownership claim in her favor.
The term denotes a unit of distance used in French law and general medieval measurement. One sense fixes the unit at 1,500 paces while another fixes it at 1,000 paces.
Supporting sources
Latoya Lane received a royal charter granting her land measured by the leuca of 1,000 paces. Surveyors applied that shorter unit when marking the edges. The grant therefore covered less territory than she had expected.
Lorenzo Lugo challenged a tax assessment based on a 1,000-pace leuca around his village. The assessor applied the shorter unit and reduced the taxable area. The lower figure lowered Lugo's liability.
One sense uses 1,500 paces under French law while the other uses 1,000 paces in a more general historical context.
Supporting sources
Luis Lopez asserted rights inside the leuca surrounding an ancient abbey. He argued the one-mile radius protected his fields from taxation. The tribunal upheld his claim under the historic ecclesiastical measure.
Leonard Lowe sought refuge within the one-mile leuca of the monastery. Officials measured the distance from the abbey walls and confirmed he stood inside the protected zone. They therefore declined to arrest him there.
Lance Lee claimed exemption from royal dues inside the monastery leuca. The court measured one mile from the cloister walls and recognized the historic privilege. Lee's lands therefore escaped the tax.
Yes. A third sense describes a privileged space of one mile around a monastery within which certain legal protections applied.
Supporting sources
The sense describing a one-mile radius around a monastery governs claims involving sanctuary or tax exemptions near religious houses.
Supporting sources
…a dissenting opinion, in which Black, J., joined. Syllabus Appellants, the Executive Director of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut, and its medical director, a licensed physician, were convicted as accessories for violating a Connecticut statute which makes it a crime to use any drug, medicinal article…