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In 13th century French law, as set down in Philippe de Beaumanoir's Coutumes de Beauvaisis, the concept of notoire applied to events and crimes where the identity of the perpetrator was widely known. An event or crime (but not a person, note) became notoire if done before six or more people bonne renomee[a], and had a lower standard of proof.[2] In Roman and canon law, something that was notorium facti was well-known in fact,[b] the modern equivalent of which would be roughly judicial notice.[3] On Wikipedia, you should wait until the notoire is properly documented, and always double-check the notorium facti.
Don't conflate notoriety with notability. That some recorded silliness might be the latest fad on some WWW site does not mean that the person being silly (or worse, flatulent, literally or metaphorically) has had his or her life and works documented in depth in independent, reliable, sources.
Don't conflate notoriety with correctness. There's no such thing as truly common knowledge for a worldwide editorship, and common knowledge is often wrong.
Don't abuse Wikipedia as a means for either castigating or glorifying the notorious. Wikipedia is not a soapbox. It's supposed to be a reference work, for readers to consult.
Footnotes
edit- ^ i.e. of unsullied good reputation[1]
- ^ "quod exhibet et offert se oculis omnium", or "which is exhibited and offered to everyone's eyes", as Johannes Teutonicus put it[3]
References
editCross-reference
edit- ^ Akehurst 2003, pp. 79–81.
- ^ Akehurst 2003, pp. 83–84.
- ^ a b Akehurst 2003, p. 85.
Bibliography
edit- Akehurst, F.R.P. (2003). "Good Name, Reputation, and Notoriety in French Customary Law". In Fenster, Thelma S.; Smail, Daniel Lord (eds.). Fama: The Politics of Talk and Reputation in Medieval Europe (conference in September 2000, Fordham University). Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801488573.