A fine due to the lord of the manor on the death of a person holding land of the manor. It consisted of the best beast or chattel belonged to the deceased. Heritable Jurisdictions Act. An Act passed in 1747, abolishing hereditary jurisdictions throughout Scotland. Up to this date the decision of ordinary actions at law, especially in the Highlands, had been in the hands of the chiefs of the clans, and principal landowners, and had descended by heredity, with the result that judicial functions were frequently exercised by persons having no legal knowledge or aptitude. By this Act these powers were transferred to sheriffs-depute, one being appointed for each county. Hermandad. A confederation of the principal cities of Castile, formed during the middle ages for mutual protection against brigands and other lawless persons. By degrees the brotherhood usurped the functions of a legislative body, enforcing their rules, when necessary, by force of arms. It was also known as the Santa Hermandad, or Holy Brotherhood. Herrings, Battle of the. The name given to an unsuccessful attack by the French upon the entrenched camp of Sir John Fastolfe at Rouvray in 1429. Hero of the Nile. A sobriquet of Nelson. Herschel System. The system of State Education established in Cape Colony in 1838, and designed by Sir John Herschel, the astronomer. Public elementary schools were provided in all the principal centres of European population, where instruction was given free to all children of good conduct. Religious instruction was also given to all whose parents did not object, and clergymen of any denomination were permitted to catechise the children of their congregation at stated hours. Secondary schools were established in the principal villages, and a normal seminary in Capetown, to train teachers for the elementary schools. Hersir. In ancient Norse times, the hereditary chief of a Her, or tribunal community. Hidage. In Anglo-Saxon times, a land tax for war purposes. Under Æthelred the Unready the tax took the form of the furnishing of one man at arms for every eight hides, and one ship for every three hundred hides. Hide. In Saxon times the portion of land allotted to every free householder. High Commission, Court of. A court established in the reign of Elizabeth, to deal with all questions appertaining to church discipline. It was abolished by Parliament in 1641, but reconstituted by James II in 1686, under the notorious Jeffreys, in whose hands it became a mere instrument for persecution and extortion. Under pressure of the pending invasion of William of Orange, James, in the last year of his reign, consented to its abolition. High Commission, Court of (Ireland). A court established by Lord Wentworth in 1634, to exercise the same functions as the English court of the same name. Highland Garb Act. An Act passed in 1746, after the suppression of the Rebellion of Forty-five, rendering the wearing of the Highland dress illegal.