Tenure Flashcards
Conquest and Ownership
What was the system of land ownership via conquest?
- First principle of feudalism was that once the king conquered a realm he had title over all of it.
- He split it into manors, allocating parcels of lands to lords / tenants in chief.
- They then split it up and gave it to immediate or mesne lords.
- They then transferred it to tenants in demesne i.e. the actual occupants in the land.
- We then had a feudal lord – feudal tenant relationship existing between each transferor and transferee
- The conditions on which people held the land were known as tenure.
- Everyone bar the king held radical title one does not own land per se rather a certain amount of controlling rights over land for a certain amount of time.
Alienation of Land
What were the three ways of alienating land?
(a) Subinfeudation: Transfer of rights to a subordinate.
(b) Substitution: Tenant surrenders his rights to the lord, and the lord transfers them to another
(c) Mortmain: transferring ownership into someone who couldn’t die e.g. the church.
Services and Incidents
What were services and incidents, what is escheat?
- A feudal tenant owned services and incidents to his feudal lord. Services were ongoing payments while incidents were once off payments triggered by events such as death or marriage of lord’s child.
- Escheat: If a feudal tenant died his heir had no automatic right to inherit the tenure, the feudal lord had discretion to decide. Escheat means rights revert to the lord on the death of the tenant.
- Could allow it or not. Can charge tax. If a minor, had to look after him til 21 then the ward could take over the tenure (ousterlemain).
The Decline of Feudalism
(a) The Coronation Charter of Henry I (1176)
The right to inherit was established (on payment of a fine) and the feudal lords’ power diminished somewhat.
The Decline of Feudalism
(Magna Carta (1275)
Prohibited mortmain and provided landholdings couldn’t be fragmented to the extent that the land retained was insufficient to meet the incidents owed to the feudal lord.
The Decline of Feudalism
Quia Emptores (Statute of Westminster 1290)
(i) Mortmain was prohibited again
(ii) Subinfeudation in the fee simple was prohibited: Feudal lord and tenant relationships that last forever couldn’t be created. This meant the incidents that were shrinking the pyramid (escheat) were allowed but the mechanisms of growing it (fee simple infeudation) was prohibited. This substantially damaged the feudal pyramid. This, however, did not apply to the crown.
(iii) Free tenants were given the right to substitute without their lords’ consent: Birth of the principle of alienability – landholders ought to be free to deal w their property as the law can withstand.
(iv) Substitution had to be accompanied by a proportionate division of lands: Designed to ensure feudal lords wouldn’t entirely lose their income.
The Decline of Feudalism
Tenures Abolition Act 1662
Abolished most forms of tenure. This meant the holder of land now had freedom to alienate that land. Where tenure continued, the tenant could substitute w/o lord consent.
The Decline of Feudalism
Abolished escheat and provided the state is the ultimate intestate successor
Abolished escheat and provided the state is the ultimate intestate successor
Feudal Residue
Freehold Estates
(i) fee simple (ownership forever) (ii) fee tail (ownership for a blood line) (iii) the life estate (ownership for life).
Feudal Residue
Leasehold
Leases are contractual relationships but evolved in feudal times where tenants contracted w another to allow the other hold land subject to conditions within the contract itself.
Feudal Residue
The Principle of Alienability
Quia Emptores introduced the principle of freely inalienable land. This principle permeates Irish property law. Example: can’t transfer land in a fee simple subject to condition not to alienate the land.
Feudal Residue
Feudal Fee Farm Grants
Those who received land from the crown during plantations did so non obstante Quia Emptores and entitled to subinfeudate the fee simple. This resulted in FFFG. Still exist.
