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Legal Terms - The feudal system
A political, economic, and social system centered on the Lord's relationship with others, which was linked to a proprietary tie between them. It was introduced to England during the Norman Conquest in 1066. Tenure was central to the philosophy. Following William I's victory, the Crown became the sole owner of all land in the kingdom. The subject may hold it on a tenure, either directly from the Crown or indirectly through an intermediate superior. William distributed his remaining territories to his barons. Tenants-in-chief held direct tenancies from him, with options for knight service (required military service for a set number of days per year), sergeanty (personal services), or frankalmoign (religious services). Tenants-in-chief subgranted sections of their lands to inferior persons, who held them by tenure, and so on. Subgranting was referred to as subinfeudation, and a person's immediate superior was regarded as their mesne lord. During subinfeudation, land was controlled through knight service, frankalmoign, and socage, which involved providing set agricultural or other services in exchange for payment. All of these were free tenures. Many lands were held by unfree tenure, known as *copyhold, which forced tenants (villeins) to perform any necessary labor. The tenancy system was not operational for many centuries. The Statute of Military Tenures (or Tenures Abolition Act) of 1660 reduced tenures to socage and copyhold, with the Law of Property Act of 1922 converting copyhold to socage. The idea that a subject cannot own the land itself is still prevalent in land law. Instead, they can hold an estate in the land, which allows them to enjoy the land as if they owned it.
A political, economic, and social system centered on the Lord's relationship with others, which was linked to a proprietary tie between them. It was introduced to England during the Norman Conquest in 1066. Tenure was central to the philosophy. Following William I's victory, the Crown became the sole owner of all land in the kingdom. The subject may hold it on a tenure, either directly from the Crown or indirectly through an intermediate superior. William distributed his remaining territories to his barons. Tenants-in-chief held direct tenancies from him, with options for knight service (required military service for a set number of days per year), sergeanty (personal services), or frankalmoign (religious services). Tenants-in-chief subgranted sections of their lands to inferior persons, who held them by tenure, and so on. Subgranting was referred to as subinfeudation, and a person's immediate superior was regarded as their mesne lord. During subinfeudation, land was controlled through knight service, frankalmoign, and socage, which involved providing set agricultural or other services in exchange for payment. All of these were free tenures. Many lands were held by unfree tenure, known as *copyhold, which forced tenants (villeins) to perform any necessary labor. The tenancy system was not operational for many centuries. The Statute of Military Tenures (or Tenures Abolition Act) of 1660 reduced tenures to socage and copyhold, with the Law of Property Act of 1922 converting copyhold to socage. The idea that a subject cannot own the land itself is still prevalent in land law. Instead, they can hold an estate in the land, which allows them to enjoy the land as if they owned it.
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