The History of English Law before the Time of Edward I: In Two Volumes

Volume II Contents

Contents Book II C h a p t er I V. Ownership and Possession, pp. 1–191§ 1. Rights in land, pp. 2–30 Distinction between movables and immovables, 2 Is land owned? 3 Ownership and lordship, 3 Ownership and feudal theory, 4 Tenancy in fee and life tenancy, 6 The tenant in fee, 7 The life tenant, 7 Position of the life tenant, 8 Tenant for life and the law of waste, 9 Tenant for life and public law, 9 Seisin of tenant for life, 10 Tenants for life in litigation, 10 The doctrine of estates, 11 The estate and the forma doni, 11 The power of the gift, 12 The form of the gift a law for the land, 13 The gift to a man and his heirs, 13 Duration of a fee, 14 Limited gifts, 15 The maritagium, 15 Gift to a man and the heirs of his body, 17 The conditional fee, 17 History of the conditional fee, 18 Statutory protection of conditional gifts, 19 Settlements in the thirteenth century, 20 Joint tenancies, 21 Reversion and remainder, 21 Remainders after life estates, 22 Reversion and escheat, 23 Remainders after conditional fees, 24 Gifts upon condition, 26 The form of the gift and testamentary power, 27 Influence of the forma doni, 28 Note on the conditional fee, 29 L4729.indb v L4729.indb v 3/5/10 10:33:35 AM 3/5/10 10:33:35 AM vi contents§ 2. Seisin, pp. 30–83 Seisin, 30 Seisin and possession, 31 Sitting on land, 31 Technicalities of seisin, 32 Seisin and remedies, 32 Seisin of chattels, 33 Contrast between seisin and proprietary rights, 34 Seisin and enjoyment, 35. Who is seised? 36 Case of tenant in villeinage, 37 Case of termor, 38 Case of guardian, 38 Case of tenant for life, 39 Case of the lord, 39 Case of reversioner, 41 Infants and communities, 41 General doctrine of seisin, 41 Protection of possession, 42 Modern theories, 42 Possession and criminal law, 43 Possession and the law of tort, 43 Possession as a bulwark of property, 44 Possession as a kind of right, 44 Contrast between various principles, 45 The various principles in English law, 45 Disseisin as an offence, 46 Disseisin as a tort, 46 Possessory action against the third hand, 47 Proof of seisin and proof of ownership, 47 Seisin as a root of title, 48 Introduction of possessory actions, 48 The novel disseisin, 50 Protection of wrongful seisin, 51 Relativity of seisin, 53 Novelty of the disseisin, 53 “Unjustly and without judgment,” 54 Rigorous prohibition of self-help, 55 Trespass and disseisin, 55 Disseisin of absent possessor, 56 Scope of the assize, 57 The assize and the third hand, 58 The mort d’ancestor, 59 A summary action, 59 A possessory action, 59 Seisin as of fee, 60 Exclusion of proprietary pleas, 61 Principle of the assize, 62 Is seisin heritable? 62 Seisin in law, 63 Acquisition of seisin by an abator, 64 Scope of the assize, 64 The writs of entry, 65 The writ of right, 65 Invention of writs of entry, 66 Writs sur disseisin, 67 Scope of the action, 67 The English possessorium and the canon law, 69 Other writs of entry, 71 Historical evolution of these writs, 72 Their principle, 73 Active and passive transmission, 73, 74 The doctrine of degrees, 74 Are these writs possessory? 75 The hierarchy of actions and of seisins, 78 Is the writ of right possessory? 79 Relativity of ownership, 80 Ancient history of ownership and possession, 81 Seisin and “estates,” 82 Seisin and title, 83 L4729.indb vi L4729.indb vi 3/5/10 10:33:35 AM 3/5/10 10:33:35 AM contents vii§ 3. Conveyance, pp. 84–110 Modes of acquiring rights in land, 84 No title by occupation, 84 No acquisitive prescription, 85 Alluvion etc., 85 Escheat, forfeiture, reversion, 85 The gift of land, 86 Feoffment, 86 Expression of the donor’s will, 86 Livery of seisin, 87 The ancient German conveyance, 88 Symbolic livery, 89 Anglo-Saxon land-books, 91 Law in the Norman age, 91 Demand for a real livery, 92 Practice in the thirteenth century, 94 Royal conveyances, 94 The release, 94 The quit-claim, 95 The surrender, 96 The change of estate, 96 Gifts when the donor is not in occupation, 97 Attornment, 97 Feoffments with remainders, 98 Charters of feoffment, 98 The fine...