year 1645, therefore, the only free tenures existing have been the lay tenure of free and common socage and the spiritual tenure of frankalmoign. In modern times the incidents which mark the relation of lord and tenant of an estate in fee simple held in socage are of rare occurrence. Thus a rent is not now often paid in respect of the tenure of an estate in fee simple. When it is paid, it is usually called quit rent, and is almost always of a very trifling amount; the change in the value of money in modern times will account for this. The relief of one year's quit rent, payable by the heir on the death of his ancestor, in the case of a fixed quit rent, was not abolished by the statute of Charles, and such relief is accordingly still due. Suit of Court also is still obligatory on tenants of estates in fee simple, held of any manor now existing. And the oath of fealty still continues an incident of tenure; but in practice it is never exacted. There is, however, one incident of tenure still remaining, which is occasionally productive of substantial advantage to the lord. The lands of a tenant in fee simple remain liable to escheat to the lord of the fee on failure of the tenant's heirs. At the present day failure of heirs can only occur from natural causes, for an act of the year 1870 abolished all attainder, forfeiture or escheat upon judgment for treason or felony.1 When, therefore, a tenant in fee simple dies, without having alienated his lands in his lifetime or by his will (either of which will prevent escheat), and without leaving any blood relation to succeed him as his heir, such lands will fall in to the lord of whom they were held. Bastardy is the most usual cause of the failure of heirs; for a bastard is in law nullius filius; and, being nobody's son, he can consequently have no brother or sister, or any other heir than an heir of his body. If such a person, therefore, were to purchase lands, that is, to acquire an estate in fee simple in them, and were to die possessed of them without having made a will and without leaving any issue, the lands would escheat to the lord of the fee, for

1 Stat. 33 & 34 Vict., c. 23, s. I.

want of heirs. When an escheat occurs, the Crown most frequently obtains the lands escheated, in consequence of the before-mentioned rule, that the Crown is the lord paramount of all the lands in the kingdom. But if there should be any lord of a manor, or other person, who could prove that the estate so terminated was held of him, he, and not the Crown, would be entitled. In former times there were many such mesne or intermediate lords, as we have seen. But now the fruits and incidents of tenure of estates in fee simple are so few and rare that many such estates are considered as held directly of the Crown, for want of proof as to who is the intermediate lord; and the difficulty of proof is increased by the fact before mentioned, that, since the statute of Quia Emptores, passed in the reign of Edward I., it has not been lawful to create a tenure of an estate in fee simple; so that every lordship or seigniory of an estate in fee simple bears date at least as far back as that reign; to this rule the few seigniories which may have been subsequently created by the king's tenants in capite form the only exception.

A small occasional quit rent with its accompanying relief -suit of the Court Baron, if any such exists-an oath of fealty never exácted—and a right of escheat seldom accruing-are now, it appears, therefore, the ordinary incidents of modern socage tenure. There are, however, a few varieties in this tenure which are worth mentioning. They arise in respect either of the terms on which the lands holden were originally granted, or the places where they are situate. As to the former case lands may still be holden by grand or petit serjeanty; for while by the Act of Charles II. grand serjeanty was, with the other military tenures, turned into socage and deprived of its burdensome incidents, its honorary services were expressly retained. And petit serjeanty, being but socage in effect, was not abolished by the statute.

CHAPTER IV.

COPYHOLD TENURE.

BRACTON, 36. Further a man may grant a tenement which he himself held by military service to be held in villenage by villein customs and services, provided that they are fixed and defined.

ID., 208. Further there is a species of tenement called a villein tenement: and the tenure of villein tenements is sometimes pure villenage, sometimes privileged villenage. Pure villenage is where land is held on such terms that the tenant in villenage, whether he be free or a serf, shall do for his villein tenement whatever be commanded him, and has no right to know at night what he will have to do on the morrow; and he shall always be bound to uncertain services. Further he is liable to be taxed at the will of the lord to any extent. Further he is bound to pay a fine for the privilege of giving his daughter in marriage, and thus he will always be bound without defined limits, provided that, if he be a free man, he performs these duties as an incident of his tenure, not of personal status; and he will not by right be bound to pay the fine on marriage of a daughter, for this is appropriate to the personal status of a villein, not of a free man. But if he be a villein, he is bound to do all things, however undefined, both as an incident of his holding as a villein and of his personal status, nor can a free man, if he hold in this way, retain the villein tenement against the will of the lord, nor can he himself be compelled to retain it unless he desires to do so. There is also a holding in villenage not of such a pure type, whether the grant be to a free man or to a villein, by means of a covenant to be held for fixed services and customs named and expressed in the deed,

although the services and customs are of villein nature. And if a free man or a villein who has received his freedom, or who has been conveyed to another person, is ejected from such a holding, they cannot recover the land as a free tenement because it is a villein tenement, and the assize would not lie. The assize may, however, be converted into a jury to inquire concerning the covenant, because of the intent and assent of the transferrer: for if the complainants in such a case recover the villein tenement, there will not on this account be any wrong done to the lord because of his intent and assent, and the law does not come to the aid of the tenant contrary to the will of the lord; since if the lord is able to free the villein and to grant him a freehold, much rather can he make a covenant with him, for if the lord can do that which is more important, all the more can he do that which is less important.

There is also another kind of villein tenure which has been held of our lord the king ever since the Conquest of England. This is called villein socage, and it is a villein tenure, but of a privileged kind. Thus the tenants of the demesne of our lord the king have this privilege, that they cannot be removed from the land as long as they are willing and able to render the services which they owe, and villein socmen of this kind are properly said to be bound to the land. Moreover they render villein services, but the services are fixed and ascertained. Nor can they be compelled contrary to their desire to hold tenements of this kind, and therefore they are called free. Further they cannot make a gift of their tenements, or transfer them to others by the title of gift any more than pure villeins can, and therefore if the tenements have to be transferred, the tenant surrenders them to the lord or his bailiff, and the lord transfers them to other persons to be held in villenage.

LIT., 73. Tenant by copy of court-roll is, as if a man be seised of a mannor, within which mannor there is a custome, which hath beene used time out of minde of man,

that certaine tenants within the same mannor have used to have lands and tenements, to hold to them and their heires in fee simple, or fee taile, or for terme of life, &c., at the will of the lord according to the custome of the same manor.

$74. And such a tenant may not alien his land by deed, for then the lord may enter as into a thing forfeited unto him. But if he will alien his land to another, it behoveth him after the custome to surrender the tenements in court, &c., into the hands of the lord, to the use of him that shall have the estate, in this forme, or to this effect.

A. of B. commeth into this court, and surrendreth in the same court a mease, &c., into the hands of the lord, to the use of C. of D. and his heires, or the heires issuing of his body, or for terme of life, &c. And upon that commeth the aforesaid C. of D. and taketh of the lord in the same court the aforesaid mease, &c. To have and to hold to him and to his heires, or to him and to his heires issuing of his body, or to him for terme of life, at the lord's will, after the custome of the manor, to do and yeeld therefore the rents, services and customes thereof before due and accustomed, &c., and giveth the lord for a fine, &c., and maketh unto the lord his fealty, &c.

§ 75. And these tenants are called tenants by copie of court rolle; because they have no other evidence concerning their tenements, but onely the copies of court rolles.

$76. And such tenants shall neither implead, nor be impleaded for their tenements by the king's writ. But if they will impleade others for their tenements, they shall have a plaint entered in the lord's court in this forme, or to this effect: A. of B. complaines against C. of D. of a plea of land, viz. of one messuage, forty acres of land, four acres of meadow, &c., with the appurtenances, and makes protestation to follow this complaint in the nature of the king's writ of assise of mordancester at the common law, or of an assise of novel disseisin, or formedon in the discender at the common law, or in the nature of any other writ, &c. Pledges to prosecute F. G., &c.