Land tenure in Great Nortend

Land tenure and property law in Great Nortend is a highly complex area of the law which arose out of the mediaeval systems of feudalism and grew into a distinctively Erbonian system. The basic framework under which the system of land tenure works is that of the relationship between lord and vassal, as well of that of an estate. A lord, such as the King, owns land outright as an allod, and may grant an estate in land to a vassal, known as a fee. Such a vassal may then grant the fee or part thereof to another vassal in a process known as subenfeoffment. This may under customary law occur any number of times; however, under the Statute of Subenfeoffments, 4 Peter II, a tenant of a fee may have a maximum of six lords.

Types of tenure

There are two main types of tenure: free and unfree. The differences between the two are nowadays quite minimal; however, they differ in principle and in relation to certain rights and practices and therefore ought to be examined separately.

Tenure is the means whereby a tenant holds a fief, or estate in land, be it a form of freehold, leasehold, or cottage. Leases of parts of premises does not usually constitute tenure, as the possession of no fief has been transferred. A fief is to be contrasted with an allod, which is outright ownership of land with no feudal overlord. In Great Nortend, the King is said to hold all allodial title to land, except for seven allods owned by the Baron King of Wignod, the Baron King of Tunel, the Bishop of Chepingstow, the Archbishop of Sulthey, the Abbot of Lunhemey (holds two allods) and the Abbot of Charch St James.

There are a number of types of tenure relating to the kind of possessory rights of the fief the holder has, the most common being:

• Fee simple
• Fee tail
• Fee for life (or pro alterius viva)

Each of these has an absolute form and a defeasible form, the latter whereof applying conditions to the continued holding of tenure. Not all types of tenure can have all three forms; for example, tenure by frankalmoign can only be held in fee simple absolute as it is held ad manum mortuum.

Free tenures

A freehold is a tenure wherein the freeholder holds a fief from his overlord in return for the rendering of certain feudal incidents to his liege lord, and where the fief is held for a determined but not necessarily known period of time. Fixed services are services which are determined and recorded as part of the grant, and are not subject to changes at the whim of the lord. There are three types of freehold, being tenure by chivalry, tenure by frankalmoign, and tenure by socage.

Tenure by socage

Socage is the most common and most important form of freehold, and is the main form of tenure in rural areas. Tenures in socage may be held in all six types of possession. The feudal incidents of tenure by socage are fealty, services, relief, escheat, forfeiture and suit of court. These shall be considered in turn.

Fealty

A tenant is obliged to swear his fidelity to his liege lord, usually in front of witnesses. In doing so, the relationship between tenant and liege lord is established and the tenant gains the dominium utile of the land. Nowadays, the actual swearing is rarely done in person, except when the lord is the King. Instead, a deed of fealty may take its place, in accordance with the Tenures Reform Act, 12 Cath. I.

Services

======Common socage======A tenant is obliged to render services to his liege lord, in accordance with the terms of his grant of estate. Commonly, a socager will be obliged to work his lord's fields for a certain number of days a year, or to provide a fixed amount of goods as rent.

Whilst this duty still exists, in many manors it has been commuted to a monetary payment. Under the aforementioned Act, a tenant is at liberty to choose whether he wishes to commute his feudal service to a cash payment.

Petty serjeanty

Similar to common socage, petty serjeanty is a form of freehold where the tenant is obliged to render some small item to his lord at certain times, for example, a pair of gloves and a straw-hat, in return for tenure. It may not be unilaterally commuted to a cash payment.

Burgage

Burgage is a form of freehold held by burgesses in a borough from their lord in return for cash or monetary payment, or the rendering of professional or trade services.

Relief

Feudal relief is the fine payable to an overlord for the heir to an estate to gain seisin. It is generally a nominal sum of less than £100. If an heir fails to pay relief, he forfeits his right to the estate.

Escheat and forfeiture

If a tenant seised of land in fee simple died without heirs and intestate, the estate reverts to the lord. A tenant, excepting burghers, may only will property if he has no direct issue. If seised of land in fee tail, and if he dies without heirs in the terms set in the grant, the estate will escheat to the lord. Similarly, if a tenant is attainted of treason, the estate reverts to the lord. An heir may petition the lord to re-enfeoff him his lands; however, in such cases the price may be much greater than the feudal relief due.

Knight-service

Knight-service is a form of free tenure where lands are granted in return for the grantee performing some form of military service to his lord. This has been altered by statute to be commuted to either service in the King's armies or navy, or service in the reserves. It may also be rendered in money, known as scutage. Knight-service is relatively uncommon, and new grants are limited to grants by the Crown.

They are not freely alienable, and instead pass to heirs in accordance with primogeniture or by the terms of the grant. It may be, however, alienated to a third party with the consent of the lord and by paying a fine of alienation.

Serjeanty

Serjenanty in its simplest is a form of free tenure where the grantee is bound to serve in person his lord in a specified manner or to render him certain goods, the former being termed grand serjeanty whilst the latter being termed petty serjeanty.

Services may include such varied services as driving the lord's carriage on certain days, rendering two white kid gloves annually, serving as cupbearer at feasts, providing the lord with his sword, rendering bacon to the lord, supporting the lord's stirrup, or supporting the lord's arm. It has thus often devolved into a ceremonial form of tenure, and the obligations are not usually overly onerous, although in one case, the manor of Gelling Fenterwood is held by the Esdrake family upon their service of weekly counting of the population of the deer in the Royal Forest.

Tenures by serjeanty are not freely alienable, and instead pass to heirs in accordance with primogeniture or by the terms of the grant. It may be, however, alienated to a third party with the consent of the lord and by paying a fine of alienation.

Frankalmoign

Frankalmoign is a form of free tenure by the Church of land in return for, usually, a requirement that the Church say prayers for the soul of the grantor. Frankalmoign has been restricted since the 15th century, and may only be granted with the approval of superior lords.

Unfree tenure

Unfree tenants are tenants who are not personally free, and can be considered a form of indentured servitute by tenure. The main form existing in Great Nortend nowadays, is that of cottage. A cottar holds his lands at the will of the lord and the custom of the manor, and can be evicted or ejected for non-compliance with the lord's requests in accordance with the customs of the manor. Furthermore, an unfree tenant may not leave his lands or alienate his title without the permission of the lord. In effect, it forms a 'tenancy at will'.