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Seisin
Seisin (or seizin) denotes the legal possession of a feudal fiefdom or fee, that is to say an estate in land. It was used in the form of "the son and heir of X has obtained seisin of his inheritance", and thus is effectively a term concerned with conveyancing in the feudal era. The person holding such estate is said to be "seized of it", a phrase which commonly appears in inquisitions ''post mortem'' (i.e. "The jurors find that X died seized of the manor of ..."). The monarch alone "held" all the land of England by his allodial right and all his subjects were merely his tenants under various contracts of feudal tenure. Etymology Seisin comes from Middle English ''saysen'', ''seysen'', in the legal sense of to put in possession of, or to take possession of, hence, to grasp, to seize. The Old French variations ''seisir'', ''saisir'', are from Low Latin ''sacire'', generally referred to the same source as Gothic ''satjan'', Old English ''settan'', to put in place, set. Tenures sub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sasine
Sasine in Scots law is the delivery of feudal property, typically land. Feudal property means immovable property, and includes everything that naturally goes with the property. For land, that would include such things as buildings, trees, and underground minerals. A superior (e.g., a heritor) might authorise his agent or factor to give possession of his property to someone else through a document known as a "precept of sasine". One of the earliest records in Scotland is from 1248 when Sir Malcolm, son of the then Earl of Lennox, ‘conferred full Sasine’ of certain lands at Strathblane to Sir David Graham. Over time, sasine came to be used in common speech as a reference to the deed or document recording the transfer, rather than to the transfer itself. Hence phrases such as "to give sasines", "to deliver sasines", "to receive sasines", "to take sasines". Alternative spellings include: ''seizin'', ''seisin'', ''sasin'', ''seasin'', ''sasing'', ''seasing'', ''sesin'', ''seasin' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Livery Of Seisin
Livery of seisin () is an archaic legal conveyancing ceremony, formerly practised in feudal England and in other countries following English common law, used to convey holdings in property. The term ''livery'' is closely related to if not synonymous with ''delivery'' used in some jurisdictions in contract law or the related law of deeds. The oldest forms of common law provided that a valid conveyance of a feudal tenure in land required physical transfer by the transferor to the transferee in the presence of witnesses of a piece of the ground itself, in the literal sense of a hand-to-hand passing of an amount of soil, a twig, key to a building on that land, or other token. Varieties Livery of seisin could refer to either: * ''Livery in deed'', whereby the parties met together on the land and the transferor symbolically delivered possession of the land by handing over a twig or a clump of earth to the recipient. * ''Livery in law'', whereby the parties went within sight of the l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knight Service
Knight-service was a form of feudal land tenure under which a knight held a fief or estate of land termed a knight's fee (''fee'' being synonymous with ''fief'') from an overlord conditional on him as tenant performing military service for his overlord. History It is associated in its origin with that development in warfare which made the mailed horseman, armed with lance and sword, the most important factor in battle. It was long believed that knight-service was developed out of the liability, under the English system, of every five hides of land to provide one soldier in war. It is now held that, on the contrary, it was a novel system in England when it was introduced after the Conquest by the Normans, who relied essentially on their mounted knights, while the English fought on foot. It existed in Normandy where a knight held a fief termed a ''fief de haubert'', from the hauberk or coat of mail (Latin: ''lorica'') worn by knights. Allusion is made to this in the coronation c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feudal Relief
Feudal relief was a one-off "fine" or form of taxation payable to an overlord by the heir of a feudal tenant to license him to take possession of his fief, i.e. an estate-in-land, by inheritance. It is comparable to a death duty or inheritance tax. The equivalent duty at the lower levels of the feudal hierarchy was heriot (in England) or ''le droit du meilleur catel'' (in France). Etymology The word relief comes from the Latin verb ''levo'', to raise, lift up, elevate, with the addition of the Latin inseparable adverbial particle ''re-'', which has three distinct meanings: back, against and again. The Latin composite verb ''relevo'' results. The term used in mediaeval Latin charters is ''Relevius''. The payment thus obtains an heir's "relief" by his being "re-elevated" or "lifted-up again" into the place of honour and privilege formerly occupied by his predecessor. Rationale As fiefs were originally granted by William the Conqueror as a reward for past service, there was no log ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serjeanty
Under feudalism in France and England during the Middle Ages, tenure by serjeanty () was a form of tenure in return for a specified duty other than standard knight-service. Etymology The word comes from the French noun , itself from the Latin , "serving", the present participle of the verb , "to keep, preserve, save, rescue, deliver". "Sergeant" is derived from the same source, though developing an entirely different meaning. Origins and development Serjeanty originated in the assignation of an estate in land on condition of the performance of a certain duty other than knight-service, usually the discharge of duties in the household of the king or a noble. It ranged from non-standard service in the king's army (distinguished only by equipment from that of the knight), to petty renders (for example the rendering of a quantity of basic food such as a goose) scarcely distinguishable from those of the rent-paying tenant or socager. The legal historians Frederick Pollock and Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assize Of Novel Disseisin
In English law, the assize of novel disseisin ("recent dispossession"; ) was an action to recover lands of which the plaintiff had been disseised, or dispossessed. It was one of the so-called "petty (possessory) assizes" established by Henry II in the wake of the Assize of Clarendon of 1166; and like the other two was only abolished in 1833. Origin Facing the disorder of self-help over the possession of land in the wake of the reign of King Stephen, Henry II in his nationwide assizes of Clarendon and Northampton had his justices "cause an inquisition to be made concerning dispossessions carried out contrary to the assize". Drawing on the sophisticated models offered by canon law, the king subsequently created the private (and purchasable) writ of novel disseisin, which enabled individuals to take disputed possession cases to the royal courts. The action became extremely popular due to its speed (avoiding the delays or essoins of feudal justice), accessibility, and expediency. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assize Of Mort D'ancestor
In English law, the assize of mort d'ancestor ("death of ancestor") was an action brought where a plaintiff claimed the defendant had entered upon a Fee simple, freehold belonging to the plaintiff following the death of one of his relatives. The questions submitted to the jury were, "was A seisin, seised in his demesne as of fee on the day whereon he died?" and "Is the plaintiff his next heir?" This assize enabled the heir to obtain possession, even though some other person might have a better right to the land than the deceased. Origins, development and end Mort d'ancestor was one of the so-called "petty assizes" established by Henry II of England, Henry II in the wake of the Assize of Clarendon (1166) and the Assize of Northampton (1176). According to the Assize of Northampton, the lord must not prevent the heir having seisin forthwith on the ancestor's death, making this almost the final step in the development of common law heritability: "4. Item, if any freeholder had died, let ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. While the rights and obligations of a vassal are called vassalage, and the rights and obligations of a suzerain are called suzerainty. The obligations of a vassal often included military support by knights in exchange for certain privileges, usually including land held as a tenant or fief. The term is also applied to similar arrangements in other feudal societies. In contrast, fealty (''fidelitas'') was sworn, unconditional loyalty to a monarch. European vassalage In fully developed vassalage, the lord and the vassal would take part in a commendation ceremony composed of two parts, the homage and the fealty, including the use of Christian sacraments to show its sacred importance. According to Eginhard's brief description, the ''co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shire
Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginning of Anglo-Saxon settlement, and spread to most of the rest of England in the tenth century. In some rural parts of Australia, a shire is a local government area; however, in Australia it is not synonymous with a "county", which is a lands administrative division. Etymology The word ''shire'' derives from the Old English , from the Proto-Germanic ( goh, sćira), denoting an 'official charge' a 'district under a governor', and a 'care'. In the UK, ''shire'' became synonymous with ''county'', an administrative term introduced to England through the Norman Conquest in the later part of the eleventh century. In contemporary British usage, the word ''counties'' also refers to shires, mainly in places such as Shire Hall. In regions with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parliament Of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised the English monarch. Great councils were first called Parliaments during the reign of Henry III (). By this time, the king required Parliament's consent to levy taxation. Originally a unicameral body, a bicameral Parliament emerged when its membership was divided into the House of Lords and House of Commons, which included knights of the shire and burgesses. During Henry IV's time on the throne, the role of Parliament expanded beyond the determination of taxation policy to include the "redress of grievances," which essentially enabled English citizens to petition the body to address complaints in their local towns and counties. By this time, citizens were given the power to vote to elect their representatives—the burgesses� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escheat
Escheat is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied to a number of situations where a legal interest in land was destroyed by operation of law, so that the ownership of the land reverted to the immediately superior feudal lord. Etymology The term "escheat" derives ultimately from the Latin ''ex-cadere'', to "fall-out", via mediaeval French ''escheoir''. The sense is of a feudal estate in land falling-out of the possession by a tenant into the possession of the lord. Origins in feudalism In feudal England, escheat referred to the situation where the tenant of a fee (or "fief") died without an heir or committed a felony. In the case of such demise of a tenant-in-chief, the fee reverted to the King's demesne permanently, when it became once again a mere tenantless plot of land, but could be re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
