The deeds relative to the earliest grants of land are very small in size, a marked contrast to the voluminous sheets of parchment considered necessary to a modern conveyance or deed. The writing often was minute, but each letter was carefully formed. Many early deeds are in far better preservation than some of those written several centuries later, when less attention was paid to the materials on which they were indited, or the ink used. [Illustration] [Illustration] CHAPTER V. LAW TECHNICALITIES. The two chief divisions into which all law deeds may be roughly classified are the deed-pole and the indenture. The former is a square piece of parchment, made by one person, such as a will or a bond, the indenture being the work of several parties. Of this latter kind are deeds of trusteeship, marriage settlements, mortgages, and sales or transfers of land. The indenture was so called from the fact that its upper edge was vandyked, or indented--a very secure but primitive method of testing authenticity; each party had a copy. These duplicates were written on a single strip of parchment merely cut asunder afterwards, through a word written between the two copies, such as ‘chirographum,’ so that when required to be produced as evidence the two divided portions and words would fit each other exactly--indisputable evidence of their originality, both simple and ingenious. A very common form of deed, met with among title-deeds, is the ‘Fine,’ technically so-called from its opening sentence: ‘Hic est finalis concordia facta in curia Domini Regis’; the Sovereign’s name follows with the year of accession, after which are the names of the buyer and seller of the property, a full description of the amount of acreage, tenements, etc. After warranting the whole for life to its purchaser, the deed concludes with the sum of money paid for the property; this is written in words, not figures. These deeds are more puzzling to amateurs than any other. The ‘Fines’ are narrow strips of parchment, two in number; they are closely covered with black lettering, making them at first difficult to decipher. This transfer of land by ‘fine’ originated at first from an actual suit at law commenced to recover possession of the lands, and by this means to establish a clear indisputable title to it; in course of time the suit was discontinued, but the form of wording was retained by custom. ‘A “fine,”’ says Blackstone, ‘is so called because it puts an end to the suit (from the Latin word _finis_, an end), which, when once decided, puts an end not only to that suit, but also to all other controversies concerning the same matter, for by this means an absolute sale was effected, and all previous claims upon the property were made void.’