English law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, be ...

, subinfeudation is the practice by which

tenants A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a ...

, holding land under the

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

or other superior lord, carved out new and distinct tenures in their turn by sub-letting or alienating a part of their lands. The tenants were termed

mesne lord A mesne lord () was a lord in the feudal system who had vassals who held land from him, but who was himself the vassal of a higher lord. Owing to ''Quia Emptores'', the concept of a mesne lordship technically still exists today: the partitionin ...

s, with regard to those holding from them, the immediate tenant being ''tenant in capite''. The lowest tenant of all was the freeholder, or, as he was sometimes termed, ''tenant paravail''. The Crown, who in theory owned all lands, was ''

lord paramount A lord paramount is a term of art in feudal law describing an overlord who holds his own fief from no superior lord. It thus describes a person who holds allodial title, owing no socage or feudal obligations such as military service. This was di ...

''. The great lords looked with dissatisfaction on the increase of such subtenures. Accordingly, in 1290 a statute was passed, , which allowed the tenant to alienate whenever he pleased, but the person to whom he granted the land was to hold it for the same immediate lord, and by the same services as the alienor held it before.

Scotland

Scots law Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland l ...

, the feudal system was abolished by the

Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 The Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 was a land reform enforced by an Act of the Scottish Parliament that was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 3 May 2000, and received Royal Assent on 9 June 2000. Provisions The Act off ...

. The length of a

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

was limited to 175 years to prevent the existence of perpetual landlord-tenant relationships similar to those that existed under feudal tenure.

Holy Roman Empire

Within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, mesne fiefs were known as ''

Afterlehen An ''Afterlehen'' or ''Afterlehn'' ''(plural: Afterlehne, Afterlehen)'' is a fief that the liege lord has himself been given as a fief and has then, in turn, enfeoffed it wholly or partially to a lesser vassal or vassals. The term is German. It is ...

'', which became inheritable over time and could have up to five "stations" between the actual holder of the fief and the overarching liege lord.''Despotism and capitalism: a historical comparison of Europe and Indonesia''
by Tilman Schiel (1985). Retrieved 8 Feb 2014.

References

Real property law Feudalism English law Land tenure {{England-law-stub

Scotland

Holy Roman Empire

See also

References