Our Legal Heritage: The First Thousand Years: 600 - 1600: King Aethelbert - Queen ElizabethReilly, S. A.
History
Our Legal Heritage: The First Thousand Years: 600 - 1600: King Aethelbert - Queen Elizabeth
Reilly, S. A.
Law -- England -- History
Lords holding castles, manors, lands and tenements by knight's
service of the King shall have a writ of right for wardship of
the body as well as of the land of any minor heir of a deceased
person who had the use [beneficial enjoyment] of the land for
himself and his heirs as if the land had been in the possession
of the deceased person. And if such an heir is of age, he shall
pay relief to the lord as if he had inherited possession of the
land. An heir in ward shall have an action of waste against his
lord as if his ancestor had died seised of the land. That is,
lands of "those who use" shall be liable for execution of his
debt and to the chief lord for his relief and heriot, and if he
is a bondsman, they may be seized by the lord.
Any woman who has an estate in dower, or for a term of life, or
in tail, jointly with her husband, or only to herself, or to her
use, in any manors, lands, tenements, or other hereditaments of
the inheritance or purchase of her husband, or given to the said
husband and wife in tail, or for term of life, by any of the
ancestors of the said husband, or by any other person seised to
the use of the said husband, or of his ancestors, who, by
herself or with any after taken husband; discontinue, alienate,
release, confirm with warranty or, by collusion, allow any
recovery of the same against them or any other seised to their
use, such action shall be void. Then, the person to whom the
interest, title, or inheritance would go after the death of such
woman may enter and possess such premises. This does not affect
the common law that a woman who is single or remarried may give,
sell, or make discontinuance of any lands for the term of her
life only.
All deeds of gift of goods and chattels made of trust, to the use
of the giver [grantor and beneficiary of trust], to defraud
creditors are void.
It is a felony to carry off against her will, a woman with lands
and tenements or movable goods, or who is heir-apparent to an
ancestor. This includes taking, procuring, abetting, or
knowingly receiving a woman taken against her will.
A vagabond, idle, or suspected person shall be put in the stocks
for three days with only bread and water, and then be put out of
the town. If he returns, he shall spend six days in the stocks.
(A few years later this was changed to one and three days,
respectively.) Every beggar who is not able to work, shall
return to the hundred where he last dwelled, is best known, or
was born and stay there.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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