Legal Research

Word of the Day-Ignoramus, a Farce in 1615, and the English Judicial System!

By Leslie A. Pardo

How is the term “ignoramus” related to both a farce written by George Ruggle in 1615 and to an old English legal term referring to a bill of indictment?

According to the online edition of Merriam Webster the term Ignoramus , \ig-nuh-RAY-mus\ when used as a noun means ” an utterly ignorant person or dunce”. What is new to this blogger is that the term came from its use in the English legal system.

According to today?s “ word of the day” (March 10, 2011) the term:“Ignoramus” is the title of a farce by George Ruggle (1575-1622) that was first produced in 1615. The title character, whose name in Latin literally means “we do not know,” is a lawyer who fancies himself to be quite shrewd but is actually foolish and ignorant. Ruggle may have been inspired in his choice of name for his character by a proceeding in the English judicial system. The term “ignoramus” was written on bills of indictment when the evidence presented seemed insufficient to justify prosecution. In these cases “ignoramus” indicated “we take no notice of (i.e., we do not recognize) this indictment.” Such a reference would have been most appropriate for Ruggle’s satire of the judiciary.

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