attestus

Attestus is a Latin term used in historical and philological contexts to denote an attestation or evidence that a statement, document, or action is true or verified. In Latin, the concept is central to the practice of witnessing and authentication; attestus can function as an adjective meaning “attested” as well as a noun referring to the act or result of attestation. The exact form and usage vary across manuscript traditions, but the core idea is consistent: a document or clause that bears attestus has been witnessed or verified by an authority.

Historically, attestus appears in legal charters, diplomas, and ecclesiastical records to mark authenticity, frequently alongside seals, witnesses, or notarial endorsement. In diplomatics, the presence of attestus helps signal the reliability of a document’s content, its provenance, and its legal force in the eyes of contemporaries.

In modern scholarship, attestus is encountered mainly in discussions of Latin philology, diplomatics, and epigraphy. It is typically treated as part of the vocabulary of attestations rather than as a separate legal category. Scholars may translate attestus as “attested” or, when describing documents, as “having attestations” to indicate corroboration by witnesses or seal impressions.

Attestus is distinct from the English term “attestation” but shares its root. It is rarely used in ordinary Latin prose outside scholarly editions and palaeographic studies.

See also: Attestation, Certification, Authentication, Diplomatics.