The Doctrine Of Tenure Notes

This is a short sample from our History of English Law Notes collection which contains 134 pages of notes in total. If you find this useful you might like to consider purchasing our History of English Law Notes.

Pages In Full Document 3
Category: Law Notes
Original Document File Type: Word (Docx) (Conversion to PDF is available post purchase if required)
Price: Part of a package History of English Law Notes containing 25 other documents which retails for £24.99.

The original file is a 'Word (Docx)' whilst this sample is a 'PDF' representation of said file. This means that the formatting here may have errors. The original document you'll receive on purchase should have more polished formatting.

The Doctrine Of Tenure Revision

The following is a plain text extract of the PDF sample above, taken from our History of English Law Notes. This text version has had its formatting removed so pay attention to its contents alone rather than its presentation. The version you download will have its original formatting intact and so will be much prettier to look at.

The Doctrine of Tenure - The relationship between lord and man

Land as Wealth and Jurisdiction

Wealth: Importance of land as wealth is apparent as a major form of capital wealth, though not to be over-estimated. More important in this period as there were no shares etc.

Jurisdiction: Land was not only property; it was also jurisdiction and power. Rights of land holders were rights over the people on the land, or over lessor lords, not just over the land itself.

Feudal Structure:

 Top: The King (always lord, never a tenant).  The honour: Tenants in chief (direct tenants of the king). Lord of the honour.  The manor: Lowest level of jurisdiction. Lowest unit of lordship. Lord of the manor.  Peasants: Hold the land of the lord of the manor.

Writ of Henry I in 1108: If in future there should arise a dispute concerning the allotment of land, or concerning its seizure, between tenants in chief, let this be tried in the king's own court. If the dispute is between barons let it be held in the court of their common lord. It is a communal court, like the county council, which collectively makes decisions. The lord, or his steward, presides over the court as the sheriff, but he is not the judge.

+ Milsom: Sees the honour and the manor as 'feudal states in miniature'. Milsom derived from work of Stenton. Within the honour, or the manor, the lord was the supreme authority, and disputes in the manor or honour court were determined according to the custom of the manor/honour by the collective suitors of the court, not by the common law. Court is exclusively concerned with land holding. Free from external interference - sovereignty.

+ Megarry and Wade: There are … two fundamental doctrines in the [English] law of real property: (i) Doctrine of tenures: All land is held of the Crown, either directly or indirectly, in one or other of the various tenures. Concerned with the terms upon which land is held; and (ii) Doctrine of estates: Land held in tenure is also held for an estate for some period of time. The estate determines for how long.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------

'Tenure': Name given to the relationship whereby a tenant 'holds' of the land of a lord. Initially a social fact, rather than a legal concept. Underpinned the Anglo-Saxon feudal system.

After Conquest subinfeudation produced a chain of dependent tenures.

King

Tenants in chief

****************************End Of Sample*****************************

Buy the full version of these notes and essays alongside much more in our History of English Law Notes.