of the tenure in chivalry, involving honorary services on the king's person, such as carrying his sword or banner; and that these services are still reserved by the statute 12 Car. II. c. 24, though the tenure, in other respects, is converted into free socage. [Now petit serjeanty bears a great resemblance to grand serjeanty; for as the one is a personal service, so the other is a rent or render, both tending to some purpose relative to the king's person (d). Petit serjeanty, as defined by Littleton (e), consists in holding lands of the king by the service of rendering to him annually some small implement of war, as a bow, a sword, a lance, an arrow, or the like.] The services being free and certain, it is in all respects free socage(f), though [being held of the king, it is by way of eminence dignified with the title of parvum servitium regis, or petit serjeanty. And Magna Carta respected it in this light, when it enacted (g), that no wardship of the lands or body should be claimed by the king, in virtue of a tenure by petit serjeanty. Tenure in burgage is described by Glanvil (h), and is expressly said by Littleton (i), to be but tenure in socage: and it is where the king or other person is lord of an ancient borough, in which the tenements are held by a rent certain (k). It is indeed only a kind of town socage; as common socage, by which other lands are holden, is usually of a rural nature.] Many of these tenements so held in ancient burgage are subject to a great variety of customs: [the principal and most remarkable of which is that called Borough English, so named in contradistinction as it were to the Norman customs, and which is taken notice of by Glanvil (7), and by Littleton (m); viz. that the youngest son, and not the eldest, succeeds to the (d) Co. Litt. 107 a, 108 b. (e) S. 159. (f) Wright's Tenures, 160. (g) Cap. 27. (h) Lib. 7, c. 3. (i) S. 162. (k) Litt. s. 162, 163. [burgage tenement on the death of his father (n). For which Littleton (o) gives this reason; because the younger son, by reason of his tender age, is not so capable as the rest of his brethren to help himself. Other authors (p). have indeed given a much stranger reason for this custom, as if the lord of the fee had anciently a right of concubinage with his tenant's wife on her wedding night; and that therefore the tenement descended not to the eldest, but the youngest son; who was more certainly the offspring of the tenant. But it is not known that ever this custom prevailed in England, though it certainly did in Scotland, (under the name of mercheta or marcheta) till abolished by Malcolm III. (q) And perhaps a more rational account than either may be fetched (though at a sufficient distance) from the practice of the Tartars; among whom, according to Father Duhalde, this custom of descent to the youngest son also prevails. That nation is composed totally of shepherds and herdsmen; and the elder sons, as soon as they are capable of leading a pastoral life, migrate from their father with a certain allotment of cattle; and go to seek a new habitation. The youngest son, therefore, who continues latest with the father, is naturally the heir of his house, the rest being already provided for. And thus we find that among many other northern nations, it was the custom for all the sons but one to migrate from the father, which one "extends to brothers and other male "collaterals.".... "The custom of 66 Borough - English governs the de"scent of copyhold land in various "manors."-Third Real Property Report, p. 8. Et vide, as to BoroughEnglish, Year-Book 36 Hen. 6, 20; Co. Litt. by Harg. 10 a, n. (3), n. (4). (0) S. 211; et vide 8 Edw. 4, c. 18. (p) 3 Mod. Rep. Pref. (q) Sel. Tit. of Hon. 2, 1, 47; Reg. Mag. 1. 4, c. 31. [became his heir (r). So possibly this custom, whereever it prevails, may be the remnant of that pastoral state of our British and German ancestors, which Cæsar and Tacitus describe. Other special customs there are in different burgage tenures; as that in some the wife shall be endowed of all her husband's tenements(s), and not of the third part only, as at the common law; and that in others, a man might dispose of his tenements by will (t), which in general was not permitted after the conquest, till the reign of Henry the Eighth; though in the Saxon times it was allowable (u).] Gavelkind(x) occurs as of common right in the county of Kent, almost the whole of which is subject to this tenure. It is universally known that the Kentish men obtained concessions from the conqueror, by the effect of which they were permitted to retain their ancient liberties. And as it is principally here that we meet with the custom of gavelkind, (though it was and is to be found in some other parts of the kingdom (y),) we may fairly conclude that this was a part of those liberties; agreeably to Mr. Selden's opinion, that gavelkind, before the Norman conquest, was the general custom of the realm (z). The distinguishing properties of this tenure are various; some of the principal are these: 1. The tenant is of age sufficient to aliene his estate by feoffment at the age of fifteen (a). 2. The estate does not escheat in case of an attainder for (r) Pater cunctos filios adultos a se pellebat, præter unum quem hæredem sui juris relinquebat.-Walsing. Upodigm. Neust. c. 1. (s) Litt. s. 166. (t) S. 167. (u) Wright's Tenures, 172. (x) As to gavelkind, vide Yearbook, 36 Hen. 6, 20; St. 17 Edw. 2, st. 1, c. 16; 32 Hen. 8, c. 29; Co. Litt. 140 a; Robinson on Gavelkind. (y) Stat. 32 Hen. 8, c. 29; Kitch. of Courts, 200; Co. Litt. 140 a. This custom prevails over almost the whole of the county of Kent, and in a qualified manner over copyhold lands in various parts of the kingdom.-Third Real Property Report, p 8. (z) In toto regno, ante ducis adventum, frequens et usitata fuit: postea cæteris adempta, sed privatis quorundum locorum consuetudinibus alibi postea regerminans: Cantianis solum integra et inviolata remansit.-Analect. 1. 2, c. 7. (a) Lamb. Peramb. 614. [felony; their maxim being, "the father to the bough, the son to the plough"(b). 3. In most places he had a power of devising lands by will, before the statute] authorizing the devise of lands (c) generally [was made(d). 4. The lands descend, not to the eldest, youngest, or any one son only, but to all the sons together (e), which was indeed anciently the most usual course of descent all over England (ƒ), though in particular places particular customs prevailed. These, among other properties, distinguished this tenure in a most remarkable manner: and yet it is said to be only a species of a socage tenure, modified by the custom of the country; the lands being holden by suit of court and fealty, which is a service in its nature certain (g). Wherefore, by a charter of King John (h), Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, was authorized to exchange the gavelkind tenures holden of the see of Canterbury into tenures by knight-service; and by statute 31 Hen. VIII. c.3, for disgavelling the lands of divers lords and gentlemen in the county of Kent, they are directed to be descendible for the future like other lands which were never holden by service of socage.] III. From the tenure of villenage (pure and privileged, as described by Bracton) (i) sprang our present copyhold tenure; [in order to obtain a clear idea of which, it will be previously necessary to take a short view of the original and nature of manors. Manors are in substance as ancient as the Saxon constitution, though perhaps differing a little, in some immaterial circumstances, from those that exist at this day (k): just as we observed of feuds, that they were partly known to our ancestors, even before the Norman conquest.] It is from the Normans, however, that we derive the particular form of manors with which we are conversant at present(1); and among these, a manor (manerium)(m), seems to have been originally a district of ground held by a lord or great personage, who kept to himself such parts of it as were necessary for his own use, which were called terræ dominicales, or demesne lands (being those of the dominus manerii), and distributed the rest to freehold tenants, to be held of him in perpetuity (n). Of the demesne lands, again, part was retained in the actual occupation of the lord, for the purposes of his family; other portions were held in villenage (0), of which we shall presently speak more at large; and [the residue, being uncultivated, was termed the lord's waste and served for public roads, and for common of pasture to the lord and his tenants. Manors were formerly called baronies, as they still are lordships; and each lord or baron was empowered to hold a domestic court, called the court-baron, for redressing misdemeanors and nuisances within the manor, and for settling disputes of property among the tenants. If several of these manors were held (as was frequently the case) under one great baron, or lord paramount, his seigniory over them was termed an honor(p). (1) Co. Cop. s. 10. (m) Lord Coke (Cop. sect. 31) suggests two derivations of this term: a manendo, because the owner of the manor usually resided there; and from mesner, in French, to guide, the tenants being under the lord's guidance and direction. He gives the preference to the latter etymology. (n) Lord Coke says that a perfect manor cannot subsist without a perfect tenure, which he afterwards explains as a tenure between very lord and very tenant in fee. Co. Cop. s. 31; et vide per Lord Kenyon, Glover v. Lane, 3 T. R. 447; Attorney-General v. Parsons, 2 Tyrw. 223. (o) "Dominicum dicitur quod quis habet ad mensum suam-dicitur etiam (p) 2 Bl. Com. p. 91; vide Co. Litt. by Harg. 108 a, n. (4). It is said that there are eighty honors in Eng |