¶Ye shall vnderstande, that who so euer hath any estate in landes or tenemētes, eyther he hath ī y ^e same onely a chatell / a free holde / or an [Page] inheritaūce. Yf he hath an estate in the lande but for terme of certayne yeres, or at wyl: so is it called a chatell / yf for terme of his lyfe or of an others lyfe, it is called a free holde, or franke tenement / yf he hath it to hym & to his heyres in see simple, or in tayle: so he hath an estate of inheritaunce.

¶Tenaunt for terme of yeres, is he to whom landes or tenementes be lessed for the terme of certayne yeres, as is agreed bitwene y ^e land lorde and the tenaunt. And whan the lessee doth entre by force of the sayd lees, and is an actuall posses­sion of the same: than he is called tenaunt for terme of yeres.

And here ye shal note, that if the lessour that made the lees hath re­serued [Page] vnto hym a yerely rent vpō the said lees (as it is accustomably vsed to be done) yf y ^e rent be behynd it shall be in his election eyther to entre and distrayne for the rent, or to brynge an action of dette against him at the lawe, for the arreragies of the same. But in this case it is requyred that the lessour be seased of the landes or tenementes at the tyme of the makyng of the lees, for otherwyse it shall be a good plee in the action of dette for the tenaunte to say that the lessour had nothyng in the lande or tenement at y ^e tyme of the lees made: excepte the lees were made by dede indented / for than the plee shall not lye in the mouthe of the tenaunte or lessee to plede.

And it is to be knowen that in a lees for terme of yeres, by dede or [Page] without dede, there nede no lyuery of season to be made to y ^e lessee, but he may entre whan he wyll by vertue of his lees, without any fur­ther ceremonye of lawe.

Note also, that yf a man lesseth landes for terme of yeres, thoughe the lessour chaunceth to dye before the lessee doth entre, yet he may en­tre well ynoughe. Otherwyse it is where as lyuery of season is to be made: as in free holdes, and in inherytaunces.

Also yf y ^e tenaunt for yeres doth waste, the landlord may brynge an action of waste agaynst hym, and shall recouer the place wasted, and his treble damages.

¶Tenaunt at wyl, is he to whom landes or tenementes be lessed to haue and holde the same at y ^e wyll [Page] of the lessour. And in this case the lessour may put out his tenaunt at what tyme hym lysteth. But yet neuertheles, yf the tenaunt haue sowed the groundes with corne, yf the lessour wyll entre and put out his tenaūt before haruest, the lawe wyll gyue hym free cōmynge and goyng to repe and carye his corne awaye without any punyshment bicause he knewe not at what time the lessour wolde entre. But other­wyse it is of y ^e tenaunt for certeyne yeres / for if he soweth the grounde and his terme be expired before the corne be rype, in this case y ^t lessour­or he ī the reuersion may entre and take the corne, bycause it was the foly of the tenaunt to sowe y ^e groūd knowynge the ende of his terme.

In lykewyse tenaunt at wyll shall haue free cōmyng and goyng after [Page] the time of y ^e lessours entree to cary away his houshold stuffe & goodes for a reasonable space.

¶Ye shal also vnderstande that he that maketh a lees at wyll may re­serue an annuel rent, in which case yf the rent be behynde, he may en­tre and distreyne the goodes and catelles of the tenaunt, or at his ele­ction brynge an action of dette a­gaynst hym.

Also it is to be knowen that te­naūt at wyll of a mese or tenement is not bound by thorder of lawe to susteyne & repayre the houses that be ruynous as is the tenaunt for yeres / and therfore none action of waste lyeth agaynst him. Yet yf he do voluntary waste: as yf he pluc­keth downe the houses, or cutteth downe y ^e trees: it hath ben thought that the lessour may brynge an ac­tion [Page] of trespace agaynst hym.

¶There is an other kynde of te­naunt at wyll, whiche is by copye of the courte rolles. And this is whan a man is seased of a maner w ^tin whiche it hath ben vsed tyme out of mynde, that the tenauntes within the precinet of the said ma­ner, haue holden landes and tene­mentes to them and theyr heyres in fee simple, fee tayle, or for terme of lyfe, at the wyll of the lorde accordynge to the custome of the maner. And suche can not aliene or sell his lande by his dede / for yf he do, the lande so aliened and solde, is forfayted ī to the lordes handes / but yf he wyll alieue his copy holde laude to another, he must accordynge to the custome, come into the courte, and [Page] there surrender it in to the lordes hande, to the vse of hym that shall haue the state. The forme of which surrender is this.

Ad hanc curiam venit A. de B. & sursū reddit ī eadē curia vnū messuagiū. &c. in manus domini ad vsum C. de D. & heredum suorum vel heredum de cor­pore. &c. Et super hoc venit predictus C. de D. & cepit domino in eadem cu­ria messuagium predictum habend & tenend sibi. &c. ad voluntatem domi­ni secundum consuetudinem manerii, faciend & reddend inde redditus ser­uicia, & consuetudines inde Prius de­bitas & consuetas. &c. Et dat dn̄o pro fine. &c. Et fecit dn̄o fidelitatem.

¶These as I sayd be called tenaū ­tes by copye of courte roll / bycause they haue none other euidence con­cernynge theyr landes, saue onely the copyes of the rolles of theyr lor­des courte.

[Page] Neyther can these tenauntes sue or be sued for suche landes in the kynges courte by wryte or other­wyse / but yf they wyll implede or sue others for suche landes, they must do it by waye of playnt in the lordes courte after this sorte.

A. de B. querir̄ versus C. de D. de pla­cito terre videlicet de vno messuagio xl. acris terre. iiii. acris prati. &c. cum pertinen̄ Et facit protestationem se­qui querelā istam in natura breuis do­mini regis assise mortis ātecessoris ad cōem legem vel &c. plegii de prose­quendo F. G. &c.

¶Nowe althoughe some suche te­nauntes haue an inheritaunce ac­cordynge to the custome of the ma­ner, yet in very dede they are but tenauntes at the wyll of the lorde.

For as some men thynke yf y ^e lorde wyll expell them & put them forth they haue no remedye at all, but to [Page] sue vnto theyr lorde by peticion, de­syrynge him to be good vnto them. For yf they myght haue any reme­dye by the lawe, than shold they not be called (say they) tenaūtes at the wyll of the lorde, after the custome of the maner. But other men of no lesse lernynge and prudencye haue ben of contrarye sentence: as lorde Bryan chife iustyce, in the tyme of kynge Ed. the. iiii. whose opynyon was alwayes that if such tenaunt by y ^e custom (payeng his seruices) be eiected and put forth by his lord without cause reasonable he may very well brynge and maynteyne an action of trespace agaynste his lorde at the cōmon lawe: as appe­reth. H. xxj. Ed. iiij. Also lord Dan­by chyefe iustice in lykewyse, was of the same iudgement: as appe­reth. M. vij. Ed. iiij. where he saith [Page] that the tenaunt by the custome is as well īheritable to haue his land after y ^e custome, as is he that hath a free holde at the cōmon lawe / but the determinacion of this question I remytte to my great maysters,

Qui iuris no dos & legum enygmata soluunt,

Forasomoche as yet styl of this ma­ter, Certant cuasidici & adhuc sub iu­dicelis est.

¶Also ye shall vnderstande, that thusage of some maner is, whan the tenaunte wyll surrender his lande to thuse of an other, that he shall take a wande in his hande, & delyuer it to y ^e steward of the court, and the stewarde shall delyuer the same wande in name of seisin to hym that shall take the lande: and suche a tenaunt is called, tenaunte by the verge. Dyuerse other cu­stomes [Page] there be of surrēdring of co­py hold landes, which here for prolixitie I wyll p̄termit. And foras­moche as tenaūtes by custome of y ^e maner, haue by y ^e course of y ^e cōmon lawe no free holde, therfore they be called tenaūtes of base tenure,

¶Hytherto I haue treated of the fyrst membre of diuision / that is to wyte of chatelles / for as I sayd, al leeses for terme of yeres, & at wyll be accompted in the lawe but as catelles, and be comprised vnder that name / saue that they be called ca­telles reals / where as kyne, oxen, horses, money, plate, corne, & suche lyke be called chatell personalles. Nowe we wyll prosede to thexpla­nicion of the seconde membre / that is to saye, of free holdes,

¶Free holdes or franke tenemētes [Page] a mā may haue in sūdry wyses, for eyther he is seased for terme of his owne lyfe, or for terme of an other mās lyfe. yf for terme of his owne lyfe, either he haue gotē such estate by way of purchase, or els the lawe hath en [...]ed him thervnto. I call it bi purchase, whether he cōmeth vnto it by his owne bargayning & procurement, or by y ^e gyft of his frend, and I cal it by thoperacion and in­tytlynge of the lawe, whan a man maryeth a woman that is an inherures, & hath issue by her, and she dyeth / nowe shal he haue y ^e landes duryng his lyfe by the course of the lawe, and shal be called tenaunt by the curteysye of Englande.

In lyke wyse, yf a man be scased in fee simple, or fee tayle of landes, & taketh a wyfe, & he dyeth / the law gyueth vnto the wyse, the thyrde [Page] parte of her husbandes landes for terme of her lyfe / and she shal be called tenaunt in dower.

¶Tenaunt for terme of lyfe, is he that holdeth landes or tenementes for terme of theyr owne lyfe / or for terme of an others lyfe. Howe be it the moost frequent maner of spea­kyng, is to cal him that hath estate for terme of his owne lyfe, tenaunt for lyfe / and hym that hath estate for terme of an others life, tenaunt pour terme dautre vie / that is to saye, tenaunte for terme of an o­ters lyfe.

Ye shal note, that he that maketh the lees is called the lessour, & he to whom the lees is made the lessee / so he that maketh a feffemēt is cal­led the feffour / and he to whom the [Page] feffement is made, the feffee.

Also yf tenaunt for terme of lyfe, or tenaunt pour terme dautre vie do waste, the lessour or he in the reuersion shall maynteyne an action of waste agaynste hym, and recouer treble damages.

Finally ye shal vnderstande that by an acte of parlyament made in the. xxvii, yere of Henry the eyght, it is enacted that no free holde, nor estate of inheritaunce shall passe ne take effecte but by dede indented, sealed and enrolled in one of the kinges courtes at Westminster, or els within the same countie where the lande lye: as by the sayd acte more at large appereth.

¶Tenaunt by the curtesye of Englande, is he y ^t hath maryed a wyfe [Page] [...]herited, and hath had issue by her, & she deed / in this case the lawe of Englande permytteth hym to re­teyne al his wyues landes that she had, eyther ī fee simple, or fee tayle so longe as he lyueth: And this is by the curteysye of Englande / for this thynge is vsed in none other. region.

But in this case it is requyred that the chylde ve vitall / that is to say, be borne and brought forth in to this worlde alyue / and therfore the cōmon sayenge hath ben, that onlesse the chylde be herde crye, the father shall not be tenaunte by the curtesye / for thonely proue and ar­gument of lyfe in an infaunt newe borne, is the vagite and cryenge.

Ye shall vnderstande that onlesse the husband be in actual possession of his wyues landes, and seased of [Page] them in her ryghte, he shall not be tenaunt by curtesye after her deth. And therfore yf landes descende to a mans wyfe, so that she is tenaūt in the lawe, and to euery mans ac­cion, yet yf the husbande haue not made an actuall entree duryng the couerture, he shall not be tenaunte by the curtesye, for it shall be repu­ted his foly and negligence, that he wolde not entre in her lyfe.

Otherwyse it is of aduousons rentes, and suche other thynges, whiche forthwith whan they dis­cende be in a man without any en­tre or further ceremonye

Note that if tenaunt by the cur­tesye wyl suffre or make any wast in the landes or tenemētes that he so holdeth / he is punyshable ther­fore by action of waste.

Also it is to be knowen, that of [Page] thinges that be in suspence, a man shall not be tenaūt by the curtesye / & therfore yf a man be the tenaūt in fee simple of certayne lande, & doth entremary w ^t a woman y ^t is y ^e seig­noresse or lady of the same, & hath issue by her, & she dyeth yet he shall not be tenaunt by y ^e curtesye of the lordshyp or seignory, bycause hym selfe is tenaunt of the lande, & ther­fore the lordeshyp is suspended for the tyme / for a man can not be both lorde and tenaunte of one thynge / but yf he had not ben tenaunt of the lande, he shold haue had y ^e lordshyp after the deth of his wyfe by y ^e cur­tesye of Englande very well.

¶Tenaunte in dower, is she that hath ben maryed to an husbande that was dutynge the couerture seised of landes or tenementes in [Page] fee simple, or fee tayle, whiche is now deed & she seased of the thyrde parte of her husbandes sayd landꝭ for terme of her lyfe. For by the cō ­mon lawe of the lande, yf the hus­bande be at any tyme durynge the couerture seased laufully, whether it be by purchase or by discent, ey­ther in fee or in tayle and dye, his wyfe ought to be indowed by the course of the common lawe, of the thyrde fote. And in some places by an auncient custome of the moitie / yea and though the husbande were neuer seased actually durynge the couerture: yet if the landes be cast vpon hym by the lawe, so that the lawe calleth hym tenaunt to euery mannes action, it suffiseth for the woman to demaunde her dower / for it were vnreasonable that the neglygence of entrynge of the hus­bande [Page] shold hurte the wyues title.

Otherwyse it is as I sayd before of tenaunte by the curtesye / for yf landes descend to a woman couert and the husbande for slouthfulnes dothe not entre in his wyues lyfe, he shall not be tenaunte by the cur­tesye / for by all lawes the wyfe o­weth obedience & subiection to her husbande / and therfore she can not compel him to entre / but whan landes descende to the wyfe, the hus­bande onely haue power to entre at his pleasure.

And ye shall vnderstande, that onlesse the wyfe be passed thage of ix. yeres at the tyme of her husban­des dethe, she shall not be endowed by the cōmon lawe.

But it is to be knowen that a wo­man may by dyuers wayes preui­dice her selfe of her dower: as yf [Page] she be attaynte of treason, murdre or felonye, she gette no dower / not­withstandynge she hath obteyned her pardone.

Also yf after the deth of her hus­bande she taketh a lees for terme of lyfe of the same landes wherof she is endowable. Moreouer yf she de­parteth from her husband and ly­ueth in aduoutry w ^t another man / & not reconciled agayne to her hus­bande without coercion of the ec­clesiastical power, she leseth dower. She shall be also barred of dower yf she wyll witholde from y ^e heyre the charters and euydence concer­nyng that lande wherof she asketh dower: But none other saue the heyre can deteyne her dower for this cause.

It may not be vnknowen also of what thynges she may demaunde [Page] dower, and of what thynges not.

Of landꝭ messuagies / aduousons / rente charges / rente seruyses / or seignoryes / in grosse or otherwyse / of villaynes / of cōmons certayne / of estouers certayne / she is dowa­ble. But of cōmons, and estouers sans nombre / also of annuities / of homage / of thinges of pleasure: as of seruyces of payment of roses / & semblable she shal not be endowed.

There be yet two other kyndes of dower / the one is called dowmēt ex assensu patris, and thother dow­ment de la plus beale ꝑtie.

Dowment ex assensu patris, is whā the father is seased of landes in fee / and his sone heyre apparant endoweth his spouse at the church dore whan he is espoused of parcel of his fathers landes, with thassēt of his father in wrytyng testifieng [Page] the same assent / yf in this case her husbande dye, she maye forthwith entre into the landes so assigned vnto her without further appoynting or proces of lawe, although the fa­ther of her husbande be yet alyue, and in actuall possession of y ^e lande. But yf she thus do, and take her to this endowment at y ^e churche dore she can not haue her dower by the cōmon lawe of the thyrde parte of all her husbandes landes, or any ꝑ­cell of them, but yf she wyll refuse this assignement made vnto her at the churche dore, and demaunde dower at the cōmon lawe she maye very well.

A man may also endowe his wyfe at the tyme of the spousayles of his owne landes, which he hath in his owne possession / and that dower is called dower ad ostium ecclesie.

[Page] Dowment dela plus beale / that is to saye, dowment of the fayrest parte, shall be in this case.. Whan a man is seased of landes wiche he holdeth of an other mā by knightes seruyce / and of other landes whiche be of socage tenure, & hath issue, whiche is w ^tin thage of .xiii. yeres & dye / and the lorde of whom the lande is holden by knyghtꝭ seruyce entreth in to the lande holden of him / and the mother of y ^e chylde entreth in to the socage tenure: as gardeyne in socage / yf in this case the woman wyll brynge a wryt of dower against the lord gardeyne in cheualrye / he maye plede the speci­all mater, and shewe howe she as gardeyne in socage, hath so moche lande / and praye the courte that she maye be permytted to endowe her selfe of so moche lande being in her [Page] owne custodie, as amounteth to y ^• thyrde parte of those landes. And than the iudgement shall be, that the gaerdeyne in chyualry shall re­teyn the lande holden of him quyte from the woman durynge the non age of y ^e warde. After which iudgement she may go and in presence of her neighbours endowe her self of the best parte of that whiche is in her custodye, amountynge to the thyrde parte of thole / and than is she called tenaunte in dower de la plus beale.

¶Nyther vnto I haue spoken of free holdes / nowe it remayneth to treate of inheritaūces / not that in­heritaunces be no free holdes, for they be free holdes also / but the o­ther estates of which I haue here [Page] tofore treated be onely free holdes, and of no hygher nature / where as a state of inheritaunce, although it be a free holde, yet it is not to be called by that name, sythe it is a farre more excellent and greater estate, But ye shal vnderstande that of in­heritaunces some be of more am­plitude and excellenct ye than other some be: as y ^t inheritaunce which is pure, simple, and without limi­tacion of what heyres, whiche is called fee sīple. But whan I make a limitacion of what heyres, than is it called fee tayle / of whiche also be two sortes, as hereafter more at large shall be reueled. Nowe the nature of fee simple is to be decla­red with our accustomed compen­diousnes,

¶Fee simple is (as I sayd) the [Page] moost ample and large inheritaūce that can be excogitate: as y ^t which a man hath to hym & to his heyres simply without any further limi­taciō / whether they be of his owne body begoten or not, so that they be the nexte of his kynne, and within the degrees it suffiseth.

So that tenaunte in fee simple is he that hath landes or tenementes (whether it be by purchase or by discente) to hym and to his heyres for euer. For if a man wil purchase landes in fee simple, he must nedes haue these wordes, his heyres in his purchase, for these only wordes to make an estate of inheritaunce. Therfore yf landꝭ be gyuen to a mā for euer, and no mencyon be made of his heyres: he hath an estate but for terme of his lyfe, bycause these wordes, his heyres do lacke.

[Page] Yet neuertheles, yf a man by his testamente dothe deuyse landes to an other in suche place where the custome wyll serue so to do, though he maketh no mencyon of heyres, but sayth y ^t he bequetheth to suche a parsone such landes, to haue and to holde to hym and to his assignes for euermore: here a state of inheritaunce doth passe / for ī testamentꝭ the wyl and intent of y ^e testatour is to be pondred, and not y ^e prescripte wordes of the lawe.

Also these termes in the lawe, franke mariage, & franke almoyne do include in them wordes of inhe­rytaunce. And therfore yf I gyue landes to a mā with my doughter in franke maryage without fur­ther addicyon of heyres, this is an estate of inheritaunce, as we shall hereafter declare more copyously. [Page] In lykewyse it is of landes gyuen to an house of religion in pure and franke almes. Moreouer yf landes be giuen to a man and to his blode­or to hym and to his seed, he hath­in both cases a state of inheritaūce in the one a fee taile, and in thother a fee simple. For this worde seed, and blode, and suche lyke do imply wordes of inheritaunce,

But nowe it is to be sene who be sayd & mannes he yres in the lawe. Ye shall therfore knowe, that my brother or syster by the halfe blode that is to wyte, by the fathers syde and not by the mothers / or cōtrary wyse by y ^e mothers and not by the fathers, shal neuer be myne heyre / nor none that come of them.

Neyther my bastarde can be myne heyre / nor myne owne naturall fa­ther ne mother / nor grandfather ne [Page] grandmother can be myne heyre.

For it is a princyple and ground in the lawe, that inheritaunce maye linially descende, but ascend it may not. And therfore yf I haue landes in fee simple and dye without issue of my bodye, my father can not be myn heire: but my fathers brother or syster shal / and than yf my vncle or aunte dye seased without issue, my father shall haue the landes as heyre to myn vncle or to myn aunt, but heyre to me he can not be. But it may go from me to mine vncle or aunte well ynough / for that is not called a lyniall ascensyon, but a col­laterall,

And ye shall note that by the cō ­mon lawe of this realme, my eldest sone shall haue thole inheritaunce / and after hym yf he hath no issue the seconde sone and so forthe. And [Page] yf I haue no sones but doughters than shall all the doughters togy­ther inherite / yf I haue no issue at all, neyther sones ne doughters, than shal my eldest brother succede me, but yf I haue no brother, than my systers yf I haue any / yf not, my vncle by my fathers syde, yf y ^e landes be of myne owne purchase And to be short if ther be none aliue of my fathers syde, it shal go to my mothers syde / and yf there can be found no heyre neyther by fathers syde ne yet by mothers, so shal it re­uerte & eschere (as they call it) to y ^e lorde of whome it was holden / for euery lande muste nedes be holden of some lorde, as shall be here after shewed. But if landes descende vnto me by my mothers syde, than if I fayle of issue, the landes shal des­cende onely to my heyres of my mothers [Page] syde, & neuer to myne heyres of my fathers syde: As on the con­trary syde, yf I haue landes by discent from my father or his bloode, they shall neuer descende to my heyres by my mothers syde.

Thus ye se a greate difference in this behalfe, bytwene purchased landes and landes which descende from my anucestour.

Yf there be thre sones, and the myddell sone purchaseth landes, & dye w ^tout issue, theldest shall haue the landes, and not the yongest.

Also it is a principle in our lawe, that none can be myne heyre of landes that I hold in fee simple, onles he be myne heyre by y ^e hole bloode / for yf a man hath issue, two or thre sones by sondry wyues, and thel­dest purchase the landes in fee and dyeth without issue, his halfe bre­thren [Page] shall not haue the lande, but it shall go to his vncle. Lykewyse yf a man hath by his fyrst wyfe a sone and a doughter, and by his se­conde wyfe an other sone, and the sone by the fyrste wyfe purchaseth landes in fee, and dyeth without issue: the syster shall haue the lan­des by discent, as heyre to her bro­ther, and not to the yonger brother. Otherwyse it is of landes entayled as shall be hereafter specifyed.

Also yf a man be seised of landes in fee simple, and hath issue a sone and doughter by one wyfe, & a sone by another, and dyeth, and theldest sone entreth ī to the landes, and af­ter dyeth without issue, the dough­ter shall haue y ^e landes and not the yongest sone, & yet y ^e yongest sone is heyre to his father, but he is not so to his brother. But yf in this case [Page] theldest sone had not entred after the deth of his father but had died before any entre made by hym, thā shall not the syster germayne entre but the yonger brother as heyre to his father, bicause theldest brother was neuer in actuall possessyon, which is requisyte to that persone that claymeth to be heyre collate­rally. But to the lyniall heyres, it suffyseth that the auncestout shold haue ben heyre yf he had lyued / I meane as thus. A man is seased of landes, and hath issue, a sone and doughter by one wyfe, and a sone by another / he dyeth / theldest sone entreth not, but dieth without issue before he can make any actuall en­tree / his syster shall not haue y ^e lan­des as heire to her brother, bicause her brother was neuer actually possessed / but y ^e yonger brother shal [Page] haue them as heyre to his father. Yet yf theldest sone in that case had lefte behynd him issue of his body, whether it had bene sone or dough­ter, this issue notwithstandynge y ^t the father was neuer possessed ey­ther actualy or in y ^e lawe, shal haue the landes, and shal conuey his dis­cent from his father, for the sone or doughter is linial heyre, where as the brother, syster, vncle, aunte. &c. be heyres collateral, and so obserue a dyuersitie.

I call an actuall possessyon, whan a man entreth in dede in to landes to hym descended, but a possessyon in lawe, is called whan landes be descended to a persone, and he hath not yet really and actually entred into them. For notwithstandynge that he is not in actuall possessyon yet he is possessed in the lawe / that [Page] is to saye, in the eye and consydera­cyon of the lawe / forasmuche as he is tenaunt to euery mannes action that wylsue for the said landes / for els there shold insue an intolerable inconuenience, as we shal more co­piously open in an other place.

Ye shall vnderstande that this worde inheritaunce is not onely to be accōmodate and applyed to that whiche cōmeth by discente from a mannes auncestours: but also to euery purchase in fee simple, or fee tayle.

¶Ye shall vnderstande, that before the statute of Westminster seconde there was no state taile, but al was fee simple, eyther purely or condi­cionally: as appereth by the p̄tence of the said statute / but now sithens the promulgatynge of that statute [Page] dyuers formes of state tayles haue rysen.

Fee tayle is whan it is lymytted in the gyfte what heyres, and by whome engendred shall inheryte. As I gyue landes to a man and to his heyres and go no further, this is fee simple: but yf I make a ly­mitacion, and adde of his body be­goten, now is it fee tayle / that is to saye, a fee or inheritaunce lymtted, determinate, or assigned. So that yf I gyue landes to a man and to his heyres, he hath fee simple / but yf I gyue landes to him and to his heyres of his bodye lawfully bego­ten, he hath but a fee tayle / foras­moche as I appoynte, lymite, pre­scrybe and determyne the heyres▪ and for lacke of suche heyres y ^e gyft shal be expired and worne out / and the landes shall reuerte agayne to [Page] the gyuer or his heyres.

But ye muste obserue that there be two kyndes of fee tayle. There is a generall tayle, and a specyall tayle. Fee tayle gn̄rall is as where landes be gyuen to a man & to his heyres of his body begoten with­out expressynge by what woman they are to be begotē. And therfore Yf a man be tenaūte in the generall tayle of landes, and taketh a wyfe and hath issue by her, and she dieth & he taketh an other wyfe, of whō he hath also other issue / here either of these issues is inheritable to this lande entayled: But yf I expresse in the gyfte by what woman the heyres shall be procreate, than is it an especyall tayle: as yf landes be gyuen to a mā and to the heyres of his body lawfully begoten by Ka­therin his wyfe, this is an especiall [Page] tayle / for y ^e issue of him by an other woman, shall neuer īheryte by force of the tayle. Lykewyse it is yf lan­des be gyuen to a womā and to the heyres of her body lawfully begotē (and she we not by what man) this is a generall tayle / but yf I adde & saye by suche a man her husbande, than is it an especyall tayle.

Also yf I gyue landes to a man and to his wyfe, and to the [...] of theyr two bodyes lawfully begoten: this is an especyall tayle / as well in the husbande as my wyfe.

Semblably it is, if a man gyueth landes to an other man with his doughter or kynswoman in franke maryage, this īplyeth a state tayle especiall / and as well the man as the woman hathe estate in the spe­ciall tayle.

But yf I gyue landes to a man [Page] and to a woman, and to his heyres that he shall begete of her / here the woman hath estate but for terme of her lyfe, & the husbande an estate in the especiall tayle. In lykewyse it is on the womans behalfe: as yf I gyue landes to a man and his wyfe, and to her heyres of the body of her sayd husbande engendred / he hath an estate but for terme of lyfe, and she an estate in the speciall tayle. But in bothe cases, yf I had sayd to the heyres and not his or her heyres, than sholde eyther of them haue had an estate in the spe­ciall tayle, bicause this worde hey­res is as well referred to thone as to thother.

Ye shall also vnderstande, that if landes be gyuen to a man, & to the heyres males of his body, this is a state tayle, and in this case y ^e heyre [Page] female shall neuer inheryte.

Finally it is to be noted, that of landes wiche a man hath in fee simple, the possession of the brother shall cause the syster germayne to inherite / and not the brother by the halfe blode, as here to fore was said but of landes entayled otherwise it is. Therfore yf a man be seised of landes in the generall tayle, & hath issue by his fyrst wyfe a sone and a doughter, and a sone by an otherwyse, and dyeth / and theldest sone entreth ī to y ^e landes and dyeth the syster germayne shall not haue the landes, but y ^e yonger brother of the halfe bloode / bycause who so euer shall inheryte landes in tayle, must clayme them as next and immedi­ate heyre, not to hym that dieth last seased of the landes, but to hym vnto whome the landes were fyrste [Page] giuen, whiche in the case before re­membred, is the sone and not the doughter.

Thus ye shall obserue a greate dy­uersitie betwene the fassion of suc­cessyon in landes of fee simple and of fee tayle.

¶Whan landes or tenementes be giuen to a man and to his wyfe, and to the heyres of theyr two bo­dyes lawfully begoten, yf in this case eyther of them chaunce to dye before they haue issue betwene thē, he or she that ouerlyueth is styll te­naunt in tayle / but without al pos­sybylitie of any issue y ^e can be heyre to these landes entayled / & for this cause he or she thus ouerlyuynge is called tenaunte after possibilitie of issue extinct / for in suche a tenaūt [Page] is all possibilitie of issue that maye be inherytable to these landes by force of the gifte in tayle vtterly ex­tincte and quenched / and by his or her deth the state tayle shal expyre, cease, & be abolysshed for euer / and shal reuerte agayne to the gyuer or donour from whens it came.

Yet forasmoche as this tenaunte after possibilytie of issue, had ones an inheritaunce in him, he shal not be punysshed by an action of waste though he maketh neuer so moche wast in the landes and tenementꝭ / yet in effect he is but a tenaunt for terme of lyfe.

¶Hithervnto I haue made a compendious declaracyon of estates of all sortes: but where as I sayd y ^t amonges systers there is no preto­gatyue or preeminence concernyng [Page] thenherityng of theyr auncestours landes, but that they shall be al to­gither inheritours, and make as it were but one heyre: it is expedient to make a further ꝓcesse in this be­halfe, and to shewe howe & in what maner particion shall be made.

But ye shall vnderstande y ^t there be besyde perceners at the cōmon lawe, whiche be onely systers / also perceners by custome, which is a­monges brothers contrarye to the course of the cōmon lawe / and this custome is in Kent, and ī other pla­ces where landes and tenementes be of the tenure of Gauel kynde.

Ye shall therfore knowe, y ^t whan a man is seised of landes in fee or fetayle, and hath no issue but dough­ters, and die / and the doughters do entre in to the landes thus descen­ded vnto them, nowe they be called [Page] perceners, or coheyres / & by a wryt called, Dep ꝑticione facienda brought by one of them agaynst the others, they shall be constrayned by y ^e lawe to suffre an egall ꝑticion to be made of the landes bytwene them.

Nowe particion maye be made in sundrye wayes. One waye is whā they them selue do make ꝑti­ciō bitwene thē of those heritage and do agree vnto the same, and entre euery one in to her parte so a­lotted vnto her.

An other is, whan by all theyr agrement and consent one cōmon frende do make the particion. In whiche case the eldest syster shall haue the first election, and after her the seconde syster, and so forth / but if they agree y ^t the eldest syster shal make the particion, & she maketh it, than y ^e eldest shall not chuse first, [Page] but shall suffre all her other sisters to chose before, as it is thought.

There is also an other forme of ꝑticion, whiche is egally to deuyde the landes in to so many partes as there be coheyres or ꝑceners / and to wryte euery parte so deuyded in a seueral scroull of paper, & to put the sayd scroulles in to a bonet / or to enclose them seuerally in balles of waxe / and than th eldest syster to chuse which ball she wyl, or to put her hand in to the bonet & to take a scroull, & to holde her to her chaūce and allotment, & so consequently e­uery syster after other.

And ye shall note, that particion by agrement may as well be made by nude and bare wordes without wrytynge as by wrytynge.

That yf any of y ^e perceners wyl not suffre any particion to be made [Page] than may thother that wolde haue peaticyon, purchase a wryt called De particione facienda agaynst thē that refuse particion, to compel the same to suffre particion to be made accordyngly / and thā by the iudge­mēt of the courte the sheryfe by the serement of twelue men shal make particion bytwene them, and shall assigne to eche sister her porcion, as he shall thynke good, w ^tout gyuyng any election to theldest.

And yf two maners or meeses descend to two systers, and the ma­ners be not of egal value, than may she to whom y ^e lesse maner is allot­ted haue assigned vnto her a rente proporcyonably out of the others maner.

Finally ye shal vnderstande, that yf a man be seased of landes in fee simple, and hath issue two dough­ters [Page] / and gyueth with one of his doughters to an other men y ^e third or fourth parte of his land ī franke maryage, and dyeth / if in this case the doughter that is in this wyse auaunced wyll haue her porcion of her fathers heritage, she must put her lande gyuen vnto her ī franke mariage in hochepot newe againe. I meane she muste be contented to suffre her sayd landes to be cōmixt and mēgled with the other landes of whiche her father dyed seased in fee, so that an equall diuision maye be made of the hole / or elles she shal haue no ꝑte of those landꝭ, of whiche her father dyed seased: but yf her father had made vnto her but a cō ­mon gyft in tayle, or a feffement in fee, she shold not nede to put her landes in hochepot, but maye retayne them styll, and also haue as good a [Page] ꝑte of the rest of y ^e landes of whych her father dyed seased, as her other sister or sisters. For a gyfte ī franke maryage, is acompted the mooste free or moost liberall gyfte that can be, and that whiche the law iudg­geth to be onelye for the aduaūce­ment and bestowyng of the dough­ter, where as feffementꝭ in fee and also cōmon gyftes in tayle be acu­stomably for other causes, and for the aduauntage rather of the gy­uour, or seffour.

¶Forasmoche as euery estate is eyther pure, or condcional / it were not amysse somwhat to make a de­claracyon of the nature and effica­cye of condicions. Wherefore ye shal vnderstand that of cōdicions, some be actuall condicions, called condi­cions in dede / and other some be cō ­dicyons [Page] in lawe.

Condicyons in dede be suche as by annexed by expresse wordes to y ^e feffement lees or graunt, eyther in wrytynge or without: as yf I in­feffe a man in certayne landes re­seruinge to me and to myne heyres so moche rent yerely to be payde at suche a feest / and for defaute of payment, that it shall be lawfull for me to reentre this is a feffement vpon condicyon of payment. For the not payment of the rente shall dissolue the feffement. Semblably it is of gyftes in tayle leeses. &c.

But yf the condicion be, that for de­faulte of paiment of the rent, it shal be lawful for the feffour to entre a­gayne in to the landes, and to holde them tyl he be satisfyed of the rent / this condicyon not performed doth not dissolue the feffement, but oneli [Page] gyueth to the feffour an authoritie to reteine the landes (as it were by way of distresse) tyl he hath leuyed the arreragyes of the rent.

And ye shall obserue, that condi­cyons be somtyme made to be per­formed on the feffees behalfe, and somtyme on the feffours behalfe. On the feffees behalfe, as whan I infeffe you of landes vpon condiciō that ye shall do suche an acte, as to pay vnto me or to myn heyres such annuall rent.

On the feffours behalfe, as whā I make a fessement vnto you vpon condicion, that yf I pay or cause to be payde vnto you before suche a day, suche a somme of money, than it shall be lawfull for me to entre a­gayne and reteyn my landes in my former estate. In this case ye that be the feffee, are called tenaunte in [Page] morgage, which is as moche to say as a deed gage / and it semeth that the cause why it is so called, is for­asmoche as it is doubtful whether the feffour wyll pay at the day pre­scrybed suche somme of money for the redemptiō of his landes or no / for yf he do not, his title or interesse in the landes thus gaged is vtter­ly extincte without all hope of re­uyuynge.

Ye shall note that yf the morga­geour dyeth before the daye of payment, his heire may redeme y ^e land very wel euen as wel as his aūce­stour y ^t morgaged the lande myght haue done, althoughe there be no mencion made of heyres in y ^e wry­tynge.

And yf whan the money is law­fully by y ^e morgageour or his heire profered, and the feffee refuseth to [Page] receyue the same, the feffour or his heyre may entre, and than hath the feffee no remedye for his monye at the cōmon lawe.

Ye shall vnderstande also y ^t some cōdicyons be vtterly voyde in the lawe, and of none effycacye: as if a feffement be made of landes in fee vpon condicion that the feffee shall not aliene this same to none other this condicion I saye is voyde, by­cause the feffee is restrayned of his hole power that the lawe giueth in suche case vnto hym, and whiche power and libertye, is in maner in­cluded in euery feffemente: yet I may abbrydge hym of parte of his power, as to condycyon with hym that he shal not aliene the landes to suche a personne or suche. But of gyftes in tayle other wyse it is, for yf I gyue landes to a man and to [Page] the heyres of his body lawfully be­goten vpon cōdicion that he nor his heyres shal aliene y ^e landes to none other ꝑsone / this condicion is good and effectuall in the lawe / and if he or his heyres contrary to che condi­cion do aliene them, than y ^e donour or his heyres maye very well entre and reteyne the landes for euer / bi­cause this condicyon dothe stande with the statute of Westm̄ seconde whiche prohybiteth suche aliena­cions to be made.

Hyther vnto I haue spoken of cō ­dicions in dede, nowe wyl I shewe what be condicions in lawe that be annexed to any estates.

Knowe ye therfore, that yf thof­fyce of a ꝑker, or stewarde, or suche lyke offyce, be graūted to a man for terme of his lyfe, thoughe there be no condicion at al mencioned in the [Page] graunt, yet the lawe speketh a con­dicion in this case, whiche is that yf the partye to whom suche offyce is gyuen shal not execute al poyntꝭ apperteynynge vnto his offyce ac­cordyngly, it shall be lawfull for the grauntour to entre and discharge hym of his offyce / & this condicion is called a condicion in lawe.

¶In all feffementꝭ, gyftꝭ in tayle, leeses for terme of lyfe, or for terme of anothers lyfe of landes or tene­mentes, there can be no alteracion or transmutacion of possession, on­lesse there be a certayne ceremonye of lawe adhibited and solempnised in the presence and syght of neygh­bours or others, whiche ceremony is called lyuery of season.

And ye shall vnderstande, y ^t this [Page] ceremonye of lyuerye of season is done, whan the feffour, donour, lessour or theyr deputy come with the neighbours solemplye to y ^e landes or tenementes / & there put y ^e feffee donee or lessee in possession of y ^e said landes or tenementꝭ by deliueryng vnto hym a clod of erth, or the ring of the dore, or some other thynge in y ^e name of season / and for this selfe cause this ceremony of lawe is cal­led lyuery of season, that is to wyt a tradicion or gyuynge of season.

But this ceremony is not requi­red in leeses for terme of yeres, or in leeses at wyl, in as moche as the lessour in suche case remaineth styl seased / and the lessee hath only the possessyon without the season / and therfore the termes of the lawe be, that suche a mā is possessed / where as in feffementes / gyftes in tayle, [Page] and leeses for lyfe, he is called sea­sed.

Wherfore yf a feffement or lees for lyfe be made of landes or tene­mentes, and before liuery of season be made the feffour dyeth, the heyr of the feffour shall haue the landes by the regour of the lawe, notwith­standynge that y ^e feffee hath payed to the feffour the pryce of the land, and although the feffee be in possessyon. But other wyse it is of alees for terme of yeres.

A lyke ceremonye is vsed whan rent charges, whan rent seruyees, and suche other thynges as passe bygraunt, be graunted / for it is no ful and perfyte graunt tyl it be con­signyte as it were with the ceremony of atturnement.

This atturnement is nothynge elles, but whan the tenaunt of the [Page] lande of whiche the reuersyon is graunted, or out of which a rent is graunted, do make some euydent signification and token that he ac­cepteth the persone to whome the graunte is made to be in the same respecte vnto hym that the graun­tour was: As if the tenaunt of the lande after he haue herd of y ^e graūt cōmeth to the grauntee / that is to wyte, to the persone to whome the graunt was made, and say in this wyse, or in lyke effecte.

I agree me to the graunt made vnto you by suche a man / or I am well apayde and contented of the graūt that suche a man hath made vnto you. But the moost vsual and frequent forme of atturnement is to say: Syr I atturne vnto you by force of y ^e sayd graunt, or I become your tenaūt / or to delyuer vnto the [Page] graūtee a peny or halfpeny by way of atturnement.

Yf a man maketh fyrst one graūt to one persone, and after another to an other persone / that graunt shall stande to whiche the tenaunt wyll atturne, although it be the latter.

And ye shall note, that yf a man be seased of a maner (whiche is ꝑ­cell in demene, and ꝑcell in seruyce) and doth altene the same maner to an other, onlesse the tenauntes of y ^e maner do atturne, the seruices shal not passe, onely tenauntes at wyll excepted, for it nedeth not to cause them to atturne.

Note that there is a great diffe­rence bytwene gyuynge a penye in name of season, and gyuynge it by waye of atturnement, for whan it is gyuen of y ^e tenaunt to the graun­tee in name of season, it dothe not [Page] onely implye an atturnement, but also it gyueth hym suche a season, that yf the rente afterwarde be be­hynde and not payde, he may nowe vpon the season of the peny, after a lawfull distres and rescus made, brynge an assyse of nouel disseason, where as yf it were gyuen only by waye of atturnement, he could not brynge the assyse, but his wryt of rescus onely.

Also ye shall vnderstande, that where as landes be deuisable by y ^e custome of any auncient boroughe or city, yf there be reuersion of any landes be by testamente bequethed to a man ī fee, and the diuysour dy­eth / the deuisee, that is to wyte, he to whome the deuyse was made hath forth with the reuersion ī hym without further ceremonye of at­turnement. Lykewyse it is if a mā [...] [Page] [Page] [Page] of seruyce that the tenaunte oweth to his lorde, is called knyghtes ser­uyce.

¶Knyghtes seruyce is homage, fealtie & escuage / and who so euer holdeth his landes by knyghtꝭ ser­uyce, is bounde by the lawe to do his lorde homage and fealtie, and to paye escuage whan it shal be as­sesed by parliament.

Homage is the mooste reuerent seruyce y ^t is / for whan the tenaunt shall do sytte, & the tenaunt shal knele before hym vpon bothe knees / and shal holde his handes bit wene his lordes handes, & saye in this wise. I become your man from this day, forth warde of lyfe and of membre and of terrene honour, and to you shal be faythfull and loyall, & fayth [Page] to you shall beare for y ^t landes that I clayme to holde of you: sauynge the fayth that I beare vnto our so­ueraigne lorde the kynge / and thā the lorde so syttyng shal kysse hym. But if an abbot or pryour, or any o­ther persone of religion shall do ho­mage to his lorde, he shall not saye: I becom your mā, bicause he hath professed hym selfe to be the onely man of god: but shall saye, I do to you homage, & shal be to you fayth­full and true, and fayth to you shall beare for the tenementes y ^t I holde of you: sauynge the fayth whiche I do owe to our soueraygne lorde the kynge.

Ye shall note also, that whan a woman sole bothe homage to her lorde, she shall not saye: I become your woman for it is not conuent­ent that a woman shold be the wo­man [Page] or any other than of her hus­bande that she shall marye / but she shall saye euen as the relygyous persone saythe: I do vnto you ho­mage. &c.

That yf perchaunce a man hol­deth sundry landes and tenemētes of sundry lordes, and euery of them by knyghtes seruyce, than ī thende of his homage, he shall say sauynge the faythe that I owe to our soue­raigne lord the kynge, and to myne other lordes.

And it is to be knowen, that none is bounde to do homage to y ^e lorde, onles it be suche a tenaunt as hath in the tenauncy an estate of fee sim­ple, or fee tayle, eyther ī his owne ryght, or in the ryght of another.

For yf a woman haue landes or tenementꝭ in fee simple or fee tayle, whiche she holdeth of her lorde by [Page] knyghtes seruyce / and taketh an husband and haue issue / ī this case the husbande ī the life of his wyfe shall do y ^e homage, bycause he hath a title to haue the landes bi the curtesye yf he ouerlyueth her / and also he holdeth them now in his wyfes ryght. yet before issue had bitwene them, the homage shall be made in theyr bothe names. But yf the wo­man dieth before homage made by her husbande in her lyfe, & the hus­bande kepeth styll the landes as te­naunt by the curtesye / now he shal not do homage to his lorde bycause he hath now an estate but for terme of lyfe.

Fealtie is as moche to saye as a fidelitie or faythfulnes, in doynge wherof the tenaunt shall holde his hande vpon a boke, and say thus: Heare you this my lorde: I to you [Page] shall be faythfull and true, & fayth to you shal beare for the landes and tenementes whyche I clayme to holde of you / and duely shal do you the customes and seruices whiche I owe to do you at the termes as­signed, as me helpeth god and his sayntes. And than he shal kysse the boke / but he shall not knele as he that dothe homage.

And ye shal obserue that homage can not be done but to the lord hym selfe, where as the stewarde of the lordes courte or the baily may take fealtie for the lorde. Also tenaunte for terme of lyfe shall do fealtie, but homage (as is sayd) he cannot do.

Now as concernyng escuage ye shal vnderstande, that he y ^t holdeth his landes by escuage, whan the kynge maketh a vyage royall in to Scotlande for the subduyng of the [Page] Scottes, is bounde to be with the kynge by the space of .xl. dayes wel & conueniently arayed for y ^e warre. And he that holdeth his lande but by the moite of fee of knyghtes ser­uyce, is bounde by the force of his tenure to be with the kynge by the space of .xx. dayes / and so propor­cionably accordynge to the rate and quantitie of his tenure.

But now to the purpose, after this viage royall in to Scotlande (in whiche the kynge goeth in per­sone) and after the retyre in to Englande agayn a parliament is wont to be sōmoned, in which shal be as­seised what euery ꝑsone that helde his lande by homage and went not with the kynge, neyther by hym selfe, nor by his deputye, shall paye to his lord in satisfaction of his, not seruyng / & accordynge to the taxa­cion [Page] herof, euery tenaunt shall pay to his immediate lorde (whether it be the kynge or other) after the rate of his tenure / yf he holdeth by an hoole fee, the hoole escuage / yf by a moitie the halfe / yf be the fourthe parte of a fee, the fourth parte. &c. and this money thus asseysed, is called escuage / for whiche the lorde to whom it is due, maye very well distreyne.

But here it is to be noted, y ^t some tenauntes by custome are bounde to pay but the moite, or the thyrde parte of that whiche shall be assei­sed by acte of parliament.

Yea, & the custome is ī some place that to what sōme so euer escuage is asseised, the tenauntꝭ shal pay ne­uer but such acerteyne sōme of mo­ney: & this esuage is called escuage certayne, where as thother is cal­led [Page] escuage vncertayne,

Finally ye shal vnderstand, that escuage vncertayne is alwayes a knyghtꝭ seruice, and draweth vnto it warde maryage and reliefe / but escuage certeyn is no knyghtes seruyce, but of the tenure of socage, as shall be herafter shewed.

¶Euery knyghtes seruyce draw­eth vnto it warde maryage and re­life / wherfore it is expedient some­what to entreate of them.

Ye shall therfore be admonisshed that whan the tenaūt by knightes seruyce dyeih, his heyre male be­yng within thage of .xxi. yeres, the lorde shall haue the warde, that is to saye, the custodye or kepynge of the landes so holden of him to his owne vse and profyte, tyl the heyre [Page] cōmeth to the full age of .xxi. yeres▪ For the lawe presumeth that tyl he cōmeth to this age he is not able to do suche seruice as is of this tenure requyred. Furthermore yf suche heyre be vnmaryed at the tyme of the deth of the tenaunt, than y ^e lorde shall haue also the warde and the maryage of hym.

But yf tenaunt by knyghtes ser­uyce dyeth, his heyre female beyng of thage of .xiiij. yeres or aboue, thē the lorde shall not haue the warde, neyther of the lande ne yet of the bo­dye of suche an heyre / and y ^e reason is because a woman of y ^t age maye haue ā hushande able to do knyghtꝭ seruyce / that is to saye, to wayte vpon the kynges persone whan he auaunceyth in to Scotlande with his armye royall.

But yf suche an heyre female be [Page] within thage of .xiiij. yeres and not maryed at the tyme of the dethe of her auncestour, than the lorde shall haue the warde of the lande holden of hym, tyll suche heyre female cō ­meth to y ^e age of .xvj. yeres. by force of an acte of ꝑliament in the statute of Westm̄, the fyrst.

Note that there is a great diuersite in the lawe, bitwene thages of females & of males / for the female hathe thus many ages apoynted by the lawe. Fyrst, at .vij. yeres of age, the lorde her father maye di­streyne his tenauntes for ayde to mary her. Seconde, at .ix. yeres of age, she is dowable. Thyrdly, at xij. yeres she is able to assent to matrimonye. Fourthly, at .xiiij. yeres she is able to haue her lande, & shall be out of warde if she be of this age at the deth of her auncestour.

[Page] Fyfthly, at .xvj. yeres she shall be out of warde, thoughe at the dethe of her auncestour she was within thage of .xiiij. yeres. Sixthly, at xxi. yeres she is able to make alie­nacions of her landes or tenemen­tes. Where as the man hath but two ages / the one at .xiiij. yeres to haue his lande holden ī socage, and to assent to matrimonye / the other at .xxi. to make alienacions.

Ye shall vnderstande that by the statute of Merton, the sixth chapi­tre, it is enacted that yf in case the lordes do mary theyr warde to vy­laynes or others, wheare is a dis­pargement / yf suche heyre so ma­ried be within thage of: xiiij. yeres or of suche age that the sayd warde can not consente to the maryage: Than yf the frendes of this heyre complayne or fele them selues gre­ued [Page] with this vnmete maryage, y ^e next of kyn to the heire vnto whom the heritage can not descende may entre in to the landes, and put out the gardeyne in cheualrye / & yf the next kyndesman wyll not thus do, another kyndesman of the infante maye do it, and shall take the issues and profites to the vse of the heyre, and shall yelde accomptes therof vnto hym whan he cōmeth to his full age.

But there be dyuers other dis­pargementes which be not expres­sed in the said estatute, as if y ^e heyre beynge within age of consente and in warde be maryed to a creple: as to one that hath but one fote or one hande, or that is a defforme crea­ture, or hauynge any horryble dis­ease or contynuall infyrmitye. All these and suche lyke be disparge­mentes. [Page] But here ye shall vnder­stande that it shall be sayd no dis­pargemente onlesse the heyre be so maryed, beynge within the age of discrecyon / that is to saye, of .xiiij. yeres. For yf he be of that age or a­boue and consenteth to suche ma­ryage, it is no dispargement / ney­ther shall the lorde for suche mary­age lose his warde, bycause it shall be reputed to the folye of the heyre beynge of age of discrecyon to con­sent to suche maryage.

Now yf the gardeyn offre to the heyre beinge in his warde a conuenient maryage without disparge­ment, and the heyre refuseth it as he may very wel do, than the lorde shal haue the value of the mariage of suche heyre whan he cōmeth to his full age. But yf he mary hym selfe beynge in warde agaynst the [Page] wyll of his gardeyne, than he shall paye y ^e double value by force of the estatute of Merton before remem­bred.

And ye shall note that yf landes holden by knyghts seruice descende to an infante from his mother, or from any of his aūcestours, his fa­ther beynge eytalyue, in this case the lord shal not haue the maryage of this heyre / for duryng the lyfe of y ^e father, the sone shal be in ward to no man.

Finally, it is to be knowen, that he whiche is gardeyne in cheualry in ryght may after he hath seased the warde graunt the same, yet her by dede or without dede to another and than he to whom suche graunt is made is called gerdeyn in fayte.

Nowe as touchynge reliefe, ye shall knowe that yf a man holdeth [Page] his lande by knyghtes seruyce and dyeth, his heyre beynge of full age (the full age of the male is .xxj. ye­res, of the female .xiiij.) than y ^• lord of whome the lande is holden shall haue of the heyre reliefe.

Reliefe of a hole knyghtes fee is C.s̄. and of halfe a knyghtes fee fyftye. s̄. &c.

Also a man may holde landes of a lorde by two knyghtes fees, and than the heyre beynge of ful age at the deth of his aūcestour, shall pay to his lorde for reliefe .xl. li.

¶Ye shal vnderstande that a man may hold by knyghtes seruyce and yet not holde by escuage, nor shall paye no escuage / for he maye holde by castell garde, that is to saye, by seruyce to kepe a towre of his lordꝭ [Page] castell or some other place, vpon a reasonable warnynge, whan his lorde heareth that enemyes wyll come or be come in to Englande. This seruice is also knyghtes ser­uyce, and draweth to it warde ma­ryage and reliefe as other knygh­tes seruyce dothe.

¶There is also an other kynde of knyghtes seruice, called graunde sergeaunty, which is where a mā holdeth his landes or tenementꝭ of the kynge, by suche seruyce as he oweth in proper persone to do: as to beare y ^e banet of our soueraygne lorde the kynge, or his spere / or to conduct his hoste / or to be his mar­shall / or to be the sewar, caruer, or butler, at the feest of the corona­cion / or to be one of y ^e chābrelaynes [Page] of the receypte of his eschequere, or to do semblable seruyces to y ^e kynge in proper persone, suche maner of seruyce I say, is called graund ser­geauntye / and the cause why it is so called, is bycause it is the moost honorable and moost worthye ser­uyce that is / for he that holdeth by escuage is not appointed by his te­nure to do any other more specyall seruice thā an other is bounde that holdeth by escuage / but he that holdeth by graunde sergeauntye, is bounde to do some speciall seruyce to the kynge.

Also yf he that holdeth of y ^e kynge by graunde sergeauntye dyeth his heyre beynge of full age, than the heyre shall pay to the kynge for re­liefe, not onely. C.s̄. as he that hol­deth by escuage shall do, but y ^e clere annuall value of those landes and [Page] tenementes whiche he holdeth of the kynge by graund sergeanty.

Furthermore ye shall note that in the marches of Scotlande, some holde of the kynge by cornage / that is to saye, by blowynge of an horne to warne the men of the countrey whan they here that the Scottes or theyr enimyes be commynge, or be alredye entred in to Englande, which seruyce is also graunde ser­geauntye.

Graunde sergaunty is as moche to saye in latyn as magnum serui­ciū / that is to saye, a great or hygh seruyce, lyke as petite sergeauntye is called peruū seruitium / that is to saye, a lytle seruyce.

But to reuert agayne to y ^e thing. yf any tenaunt holdeth of any other lord than of the kynge by suche ser­uyce of cornage, than it is no graūd [Page] sergeauntye, but yet it is knightes seruyce, and draweth to it warde maryage and reliefe / for none can holde by graunde sergeauntye but of the kynge.

Finally ye shal vnderstande, that all they whiche holde of the kynge by this seruyce called graunde ser­geauntye do holde of the kynge by knyghtese seruyce, and the kynge shal haue of them warde mariage and reliefe, but escuage he shall not haue of them, onelesse they hold by escuage of hym by expresse wordꝭ.

¶Tenaunt by petite sergeauntye is he that holdeth his lande imme­diatly of our soueraygne lorde the kynge by this seruyce, to pay to the kynge yerely a bowe, or a spere, a dagger, a swerde, a payre of gaunt­lettes, [Page] a payre of spores of golde, & shafte or such other smal thingꝭ ap­ꝑteynyng to y ^e warre / and this ser­uyce is in effect but socage, bycause that suche a tenaunt is not bounde by his tenure to go ne do any thing in his owne propre ꝑsone touching the warre, but onely to rendre and paye yerely certeyn thynges to the kynge, as a man oughte to paye a rente / wherfore this seruyce of pe­tite sergeaunty is no knyghtes ser­uyce but yet ye shall note, y ^t a man can not holde neyther by petite ser­geauntye neyther by graunde ser­geaunty, but of the kynge onely.

¶Tenaunt by homage auncestrel is he whiche holdeth his lande of his lorde by homage, and bothe he and his auncestours whose heyre [Page] he is haue holden the same land of the sayd lorde & of his auncestours tyme out of minde by homage / and haue done vnto them homage, and this is called homage auncestrell, by reason of the longe continuaūce whiche hath ben by title of prescri­ption as well concernynge the te­nauncy in the blode of the tenaunt, as concernynge the segnorye in the blode of the lorde. And this seruyce of homage auncestrell draweth vnto it warrantye (that is to saye) yf the lorde which is now in lyfe hath ones receyued y ^e homage of his te­naūt, he ought to warrant y ^e same tenaunt, what tyme so euer he shal be impleaded or sued for suche land so holden of hym by homage aun­cestrell.

Moreouer suche seruyce of ho­mage auncestrell draweth to it ac­quitale [Page] (y ^• is to saye) the lord ought to acquite the tenure agaynst all o­ther lordes that can demaunde any maner of seruyce out of the tenaun­cye.

Wherfore yf in this case the te­naunt whiche holdeth by homage auncestrell be impleaded of his landes, and voucheth is lorde to war­raunty, who cōmeth in by processe and demaundeth of the tenaunte what he hath to bynde hym to the warrante, and the tenure sheweth how he and his aucestours (whose heyre he is) haue holden his lande of hym and of his aūcestours tyme out of mynde / the lord yf he can not denye this, and yf he haue receiued the homage of suche a tenaunte, is bounde by y ^e lawe to warrant hym his lande / so that yf y ^e tenaunt lose his lande in defaute of y ^e lorde thus [Page] vouched (that is to saye) called to warranty, he shall recouer agaynst hym so moche in value of those landes and tenementes whiche y ^e lorde had at the tyme of callinge to war­rantye or at any tyme after. But if the lorde neuer receyued thomage of his tenauut / than he maye very wel whan he is thus vouche [...] dis­clayme in the segnorye / and so put out the tenaunt of his warrantye. Where ye shall note, that in euery case that the lorde disclayme in his segnory in courte of recorde, his se­gnory is extincte, and the tenaunte shall holde from thensforthe of the nexte lorde to hym that thus dis­claymed.

Thus ye perceyue that homage auncestrell is not but where as is alonge continuaūce, as well in the bloode of the tenaunt in respecte of [Page] his tenauncye, as of the lorde in re­specte of his segnorye. Wherfore if the tenaūt doth ones aliene his landes to an other, althoughe he pur­chaseth y ^e same agayne, yet he shall not hold any lenger by homage aū ­cestrell by cause of this discontinu­aunce, but shall holde it now by the vsuall homage.

¶Socage is properly where the tenaunt is boūde to come with his soke (that is to saye) w ^t his plough to earye and sowe percell of the de­mene landes of his lorde, which seruyce in auncyente tyme was very frequent / but nowe by the mutuall consent bothe of the lorde and of the tenaunt, it is conuerted for y ^e moost parte in to a yerely rente. How be it the name of socage abydeth styll. Wherfore nowe all y ^t is not knygh­tes [Page] seruyce is called by the name of of socage.

So that yf a man holdeth by fe­altye onely, or by fealtye & homage for al maner of seruice, it is but so­cage tenure / for homage alone ma­keth not knyghtes seruyce / yea yf a man holdeth by escuage certayne as I haue sayd here tofore he hol­deth in effecte but by socage.

Now where a man holdeth his landes by socage & dyeth, his heire beynge within thage of .xiiij. yeres the lorde shall not haue the warde, but the nexte of kynne to the heyre to whome the heritage can not des­cende shall haue the wardeshyp as wel of the lande as of the heyre, tyll the heyre come to the age of .xiiij. yeres / and suche gardeine is called gardeyn in socage / and shall rendre accomptes to the heyre for y ^e issues [Page] and ꝓfites that he hath receiued of the landes duryng suche tyme, his resonable costes and expences de­ducted, so that he shall not haue the wardshyp to his owne vse & profite as gardeyne in cheualry hath.

Finally ye shal vnderstande that whan tenaunt in socage dyeth the lord shal haue reliefe / that is to say, the value of the rent that is yerely due vnto hym of the tenauncye be­syde the yerelye rent: so that in ef­fecte after the dethe of his tenaunte he shal haue of the heyre .ij. rentes, saue that for the relife / he maye di­strayne forthwith, but for thaccu­stomed rente he can not distrayne tyll the vsuall daye of payment be come.

¶Tenaunt in franke almoyne, is where an abbot or pryour or any o­ther [Page] man of religyon, or ecclesiasti­call persone holdeth of his lorde in pure and perpetual almes / & suche tenure began fyrste in olde tyme in this maner. Whan a man was seased in olde tyme of certayne lan­des or tenementes in his demene, as of fee, and of the same tenemen­tes enfeoffed an about & his couent or a pryour and his couente, or any other persone ecclesiastycall: as a deane of a colege / mayster of an ho­spitall / or suche lyke / to haue and to holde the same landes to them and to their successours for euer in pure and perpetuall almes, or in franke almes, in these two cases the tene­mentes sholde be holden in franke almoyne.

By force of whiche tenure they that holde in franke almoyne after this sorte be bounde of ryght before [Page] god to make orisons, prayers to ce­lebrate masses and other diuine seruices for the soules of theyr graun­ters and feffars / and for the soules of theyr heyres which be deed / and for the prosperous estate of theyr heyres that be nowe alyue. And bi­cause of ryght they be boūde to this diuyne seruyce, they be discharged by the lawe to do any other ꝓphane or corporall seruyce: as fealtye or suche other lyke.

But neuertheles yf such as hold theyr tenementꝭ in franke almoyne do omit these diuine seruicꝭ wher­vnto they be bounde before god, the lorde can not distrayne them, ne yet compel them by any other meanes by the course of lawe / but the onely remedy is to complayne of them to theyr ordinary, who of right ought to compell suche ecclesiasticall per­sonnes [Page] to do the diuyne seruyce due as aforesayd.

But here ye shall note that yf an abbotte, or pryour, or parsone of a churche or suche lyke holdeth of his lorde by certeyne diuyne seruyce to be done, as to syng masse euery fry­daye in the weke / or placebo and dirige / or to fynde a preeste to synge masse or to distribute in almes .C. pence to a hōdred men at such day. In all these cases yf suche diuyne seruyce be vndone, the lorde maye very well distrayne, bicause the ser­uyce is put in certayntye.

Now I sayd that yf in olde tyme a man dyd infeoffe suche spirituall ꝑsone after such sorte, he shold hold his lande in franke almoyne / but nowe at this daye it is otherwyse / for by the reason of a statute called, Quia emtoris terratum, no man can [Page] aliene ne graunte landes or tene­mentꝭ in fee simple to holde of hym selfe, so that nowe yf a man seased of landes in fee and graunteth the same by licence to an abbot ī franke almoyne / these wordes franke al­moyne be voide, and the abbot shall holde them immediatly of the lorde of the feoffer by the same seruyces that the feofer held / so that no man can hold in franke almoyne, but by force of a graūt made before y ^e sayd estatute onely the kynge excepted / for he is out of the compas of the statute.

Finally, ye shall note that where as a mā holdeth in franke almoyne his lorde is bounde by the lawe to acqnyte hym of al maner of seruice that any other lorde can haue or de­maunde out of the sayd landes.

That yf he dothe not acquyte hym [Page] but suffre him to be distreyned, thā he shal haue agaynst his lorde a certayne wryt, called a wryt of meane and shall recouer agaynst hym his damages and costes of his suite.

¶A tenure in burgage, is where an auncient burgh is of which the kynge is lord / and they which haue tenemētes within the same burgh holde the same of the kyng, paying a certeyne annuall rent, whiche te­nure in effect is but socage tenure. Semblably it is where as any o­ther lorde spirituall or temperall is lorde of suche burgh.

Here ye shal note that for y ^t moost parte such auncient burghes haue dyuers customes & vsages whiche other townes haue not. For some burghes haue a custome, that the yongest sonne shall inheryte before [Page] theldest, which custome is called cōmonly burgh Englysshe.

Also in some burghes by the cu­stome the woman shal haue for her dower all the landes and tenemen­tes wherof her husbande was sea­sed at any tyme duringe the couer­ture.

Moreouer in some burghes a man maye deuyse his landes or te­nementes by testament at the tyme of his deth / and by force of suche deuyse or legacye, he to whom the be­quest was made, after the dethe of the testatour maye by force of this auncient custome entre ī to the lan­des so to him bequethed or deuised w ^tout any lyuerye of season to hym made or further ceremony of lawe.

Dyuers other customes in Eng­lande there be contrary to y ^e course of the cōmon lawe, whiche yf they [Page] be any thynge probable and maye stande with reason are good and ef­fectuall / notwithstandynge they be agaynst the cōmon lawe.

¶A tenaunte in vyllenage is pro­perly whan a vilayne / that is to say / a bondman holdeth of his lord (whose bondman he is) certayne landes or tenementes, accordynge to the custome of y ^e maner or other­wyse at the wyl of his lorde / and to do his lorde villayne seruyce: as to beare and to carye the donge of his lorde out of the citye, or out of his lordes maner, and to laye it vpon the demene landes of his lorde / or to do suche lyke seruyle or villayne seruyce. How be it fre men in some places holde theyr tenementes and landes of theyr lordes by custome, by suche maner of seruyce / & theyr [Page] tenure, is called tenure ī villenage / and yet they them selues be no vil­laynes. For the lande holden in vil­lenage maketh not the tenaunte a villayne, but contrarye wyse a vil­layne maye make free lande to be villayne lande vnto his lorde. As if a villayne purchaseth lande in fee simple or in fee tayle, the lord of the villayne maye entre in to the lande so purcased by his bondman, & put hym and his heyres out for euer / and this done, the lorde yf he wyll may lease the same lande to his vil­layne to holde of hym in villenage.

And here ye shall vnderstande, that seruitute or villenage, is thor­dinaunce, not of the lawe of nature but of that lawe, whiche is called Ius gentium, by whiche a man is made subiecte (contrary to nature) vnto an other mannes dominion. [Page] For he that is a vyllayne or bond­man, eyther he is so by tytle of pre­scription (that is to say) he and his auncestours haue ben vyllaynes tyme out of mynde / or elles he is a villayne by his owne confessyon in courte of recorde / so that all villay­nes either they be borne villaynes, or elles they be made so. They be borne villaynes whan theyr father bernge a bonde man hym selfe be­getteth them in lawfull wedlocke, eyther of a fre woman or of a bond woman, for so that the father be bonde, the issue of hym lawfully be­goten muste nedes be bonde by the lawes of Englande, hauinge no regarde to the condicion of y ^e mother / whereas in y ^e ciuill lawe it is clene contrarye. For there partus sequi­tur ventrem (that is to saye) the ser­uitute or bondage of y ^e mother ma­keth [Page] the chylde boūde and not of the father. How be it the bastarde sone of a bondman shal not be bonde, by­cause a bastarde is Nullius filius in the lawe.

They be made vyllaynes two wayes, eyther by theyr owne acte, as whan a free man beynge of full age wyll come in to a courte of re­corde, and there confesse hym selfe bonde to an other man.

Or elles by the lawes of armes called Ius gentium: as whan a man is taken prysoner in warres, and is compelled to serue, and become the thrall & bondman of hym that toke him, the lawe calleth suche persone a vulayne.

And ye shall note that vyllaynes he ꝓperly called in latyn Serui, by­cause that whan they be taken in warre, the captaynes be wont not [Page] to kyll them, but to sell them / and so to saue theyr lyfes / so that they be called Serui a seruādo, that is to say of sauyng. They be also called Mancipia a manu capiendo, bycause that they be taken by hande of the enae­myes.

Nowe as I sayd by the lawe of nature we are all borne free: but after that by the lawe of gentillite seruitute inuaded the worlde, than ensued y ^e benefite of manumission, Manumission is De manu da [...]o, that is to saye a gyuynge out of the hande or power. For so longe as a man is in seruitute, he is subiecte to the hand and power of an other / and whan he is manumissed he is made free, and delyuered from the said power / so that a manumission is nothynge elles than an enfran­chisement / that is to saye, a wry­tynge, [Page] testifieng that the lord hath enfranchisede his villayne and all his sequell.

Also yf the lorde maketh to his villayne an obligacion of a certeyn somme of money, or graunteth to hym by his dede an annuitie, or leaseth to hym by dede landes or tene­mentes for terme of yeres, any of these actes do imply an enfrāchise­ment.

Lykewyse yf the lorde maketh a feoffement to his villayne, & ma­keth vnto him liueri of season, this also is an enfranchisemēt. Brefely to speke, where so euer the lorde cō ­pelleth his villaine by the course of the lawe to do that thynge that he might enforce him to do or to suffre w ^tout thauctorite of y ^e lawe, he doth by implicacion enfranchise his vil­layn: as if y ^e lord wil bryng agaynst [Page] his villayne an action of det, an ac­tion of accompte of couenaunt or of trespace: these and suche lyke be in the eye of the lawe manumissions, bycause that the lord in al these ca­ses may haue theffecte of his suite (that is to say) the goodes, catels, and correction of his villayne w ^tout the compulsion of the lawe by his owne propre power and authorite, which he hath vpon his villayne. But if the lord sue his villayne by an appeale of felonye, the villayne beynge lawfully indyted of y ^e same before, this is no infranchisement / for the lord though he haue power to beate his vilayne and to spoyle hym of his goodes, yet he can not put hym to deth /

Ye shall also vnderstande, that if a mannes villayne purchaseth landes, or acquire vnto hym any other [Page] thynge / the lorde may by and by en [...] sease the same in to his owne handes. Wherfore yf the lord wyll brynge agaynst his vyllayne a Pre­cipe quod reddat, by whiche he de­maūdeth agaynst his vyllayne any landes or tenementes, this imply­eth an enfranchesemēt / forasmoche as he byndeth hym selfe to the pre­scripte and authoritye of the lawe / where as he myght vse his owne authoritie, by entryng and seasyng the sayd landes

Finally ye shall marke that some vyllaynes be called vyllaynes in grosse, and some be called villaines regardaunt. In grosse be they of which the lorde is seuerally seased, and not by reason of any lordeshyp or maner: but they be called regar­daunt whiche do belonge to a ma­ner, of which the lord is seased, and [Page] the sayd vilaynes haue ben regar­daunt (that is to saye) expectaunt and attendaunt tyme out of mynde to the lord of the sayd maner, in do­ynge vnto hym suche seruyces as to a villayne appertayne.