See also:

• SIR

SIR See also:

• THOMAS
• THOMAS (c. 1654-1720)
• THOMAS (d. 110o)
• THOMAS, ARTHUR GORING (1850-1892)
• THOMAS, CHARLES LOUIS AMBROISE (1811-1896)
• THOMAS, GEORGE (c. 1756-1802)
• THOMAS, GEORGE HENRY (1816-187o)
• THOMAS, ISAIAH (1749-1831)
• THOMAS, PIERRE (1634-1698)
• THOMAS, SIDNEY GILCHRIST (1850-1885)
• THOMAS, ST
• THOMAS, THEODORE (1835-1905)
• THOMAS, WILLIAM (d. 1554)

THOMAS DE See also:

• LITTLETON (or LYTTELTON), EDWARD, BARON (1589—1645)
• SIR THOMAS DE LITTLETON (c. 1407-1481)

LITTLETON (c. 1407-1481)  , See also:

• ENGLISH

English See also:

• JUDGE (Lat. judex, Fr. juge)

judge and legal author, was See also:

• BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born, it is supposed, at Frankley See also:

• MANOR

Manor See also:

• HOUSE
• HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

House, See also:

• WORCESTERSHIRE

Worcestershire, about 1407 . See also:

• LITTLETON (or LYTTELTON), EDWARD, BARON (1589—1645)
• LITTLETON, SIR THOMAS DE (c. 1407-1481)

Littleton's surname was that of his See also:

• MOTHER

mother, who was the See also:

• SOLE (Solea)

sole daughter and heiress of See also:

• THOMAS
• THOMAS (c. 1654-1720)
• THOMAS (d. 110o)
• THOMAS, ARTHUR GORING (1850-1892)
• THOMAS, CHARLES LOUIS AMBROISE (1811-1896)
• THOMAS, GEORGE (c. 1756-1802)
• THOMAS, GEORGE HENRY (1816-187o)
• THOMAS, ISAIAH (1749-1831)
• THOMAS, PIERRE (1634-1698)
• THOMAS, SIDNEY GILCHRIST (1850-1885)
• THOMAS, ST
• THOMAS, THEODORE (1835-1905)
• THOMAS, WILLIAM (d. 1554)

Thomas de Littleton, See also:

• LORD
• LORD (O. Eng. hldford, i.e. hldfweard, the warder or keeper of bread, hlIf, loaf; the word is not represented in any other Teutonic language)
• LORD, JOHN (1810-1894)

lord of Frankley . She married one Thomas Westcote . Thomas was the eldest of four sons of the See also:

• MARRIAGE

marriage, and took the name of Littleton, or, as it seems to have been more commonly spelt, Luttelton . The date of his See also:

• BIRTH (a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages from the root of the verb " to bear ")

birth is uncertain; a MS. See also:

• PEDIGREE

pedigree gives 1422, but it was probably earlier than this . If, as is generally accepted, he was born at Frankley Manor, it could not have been before 1407, in which See also:

• YEAR

year Littleton's grandfather recovered the manor from a distant See also:

• BRANCH (from the Fr. branche, late Lat. branca, an animal's paw)

branch of the See also:

• FAMILY

family . He is said by See also:

• SIR

Sir E . See also:

• COKE (a northern English word, possibly connected with " colk," core)
• COKE, SIR EDWARD (1552-1634)
• COKE, SIR JOHN (1563-1644)
• COKE, THOMAS (1747-1814)

Coke to have " at-tended one of the See also:

• UNIVERSITIES

universities," but there is no corroboration of this statement . He was probably a member of the Inner See also:

• TEMPLE
• TEMPLE, FREDERICK (1821-1902)
• TEMPLE, RICHARD
• TEMPLE, SIR RICHARD, BART
• TEMPLE, SIR WILLIAM, BART

Temple, and lectured there on the See also:

• STATUTE

statute of See also:

• WESTMINSTER
• WESTMINSTER, MARQUESSES AND DUKES OF
• WESTMINSTER, STATUTES OF
• WESTMINSTER, SYNODS OF

Westminster II., De Donis Conditionalibus . His name occurs in the Past on Letters (ed . J . See also:

• GAIRDNER, JAMES (1828– )

Gairdner, i .

6o) about 1445 as that of a well-known counsel and in 148112 he received a See also:

• GRANT (from A.-Fr. graunter, O. Fr. greanter for creanter, popular Lat. creantare, for credentare, to entrust, Lat. credere, to believe, trust)
• GRANT, ANNE (1755-1838)
• GRANT, CHARLES (1746-1823)
• GRANT, GEORGE MONRO (1835–1902)
• GRANT, JAMES (1822–1887)
• GRANT, JAMES AUGUSTUS (1827–1892)
• GRANT, ROBERT (1814-1892)
• GRANT, SIR ALEXANDER
• GRANT, SIR FRANCIS (1803-1878)
• GRANT, SIR JAMES HOPE (1808–1895)
• GRANT, SIR PATRICK (1804-1895)
• GRANT, U
• GRANT, ULYSSES SIMPSON (1822-1885)

grant of the manor of See also:

• SHERIFF

Sheriff See also:

• HALES, JOHN (1584-1656)
• HALES, or HAYLES, JOHN (d. 1571)
• HALES, STEPHEN (1677-1761)

Hales, See also:

• SHROPSHIRE (SALOP)

Shropshire, from a Sir See also:

• WILLIAM
• WILLIAM (1143-1214)
• WILLIAM (1227-1256)
• WILLIAM (1J33-1584)
• WILLIAM (A.S. Wilhelm, O. Norse Vilhidlmr; O. H. Ger. Willahelm, Willahalm, M. H. Ger. Willehelm, Willehalm, Mod.Ger. Wilhelm; Du. Willem; O. Fr. Villalme, Mod. Fr. Guillaume; from " will," Goth. vilja, and " helm," Goth. hilms, Old Norse hidlmr, meaning
• WILLIAM (c. 1130-C. 1190)
• WILLIAM, 13TH

William Trussel as a See also:

• REWARD

reward for his services as counsel . He appears to have been See also:

• RECORDER
• RECORDER, FIPPLE FLUTE

recorder of See also:

• COVENTRY, SIR JOHN (d. 1682)
• COVENTRY, SIR WILLIAM (c. 1628-1686)
• COVENTRY, THOMAS COVENTRY, 1ST BARON (2578–1640)

Coventry in 1450; he was made escheator of Worcestershire,and in 1447/8 was under-sheriff of the same See also:

• COUNTY (through Norm. Fr. comae, cf. O. Fr. cunte, conk', Mod. Fr. comae, from Lat. comitatus, cf. Ital. comitato, Prov. comtat; see COUNT)

county; he became See also:

• SERJEANT

serjeant-at-See also:

• LAW
• LAW (0. Eng. lagu, M. Eng. lawe; from an old Teutonic root lag, " lie," what lies fixed or evenly; cf. Lat. lex, Fr. loi)
• LAW, JOHN (1671—1729)
• LAW, WILLIAM (1686-1761)

law in 1453 and was afterwards a See also:

• JUSTICE (Lat. justitia)

justice of See also:

• ASSIZE

assize on the See also:

• NORTHERN

northern See also:

• CIRCUIT (Lat. circuitus, from circum, round, and ire, to go)

circuit . In 1466 he was made a judge of the See also:

• COMMON

common pleas, and in 1475 a See also:

• KNIGHT, CHARLES (1791-1873)
• KNIGHT, DANIEL RIDGWAY (1845– )
• KNIGHT, JOHN BUXTON (1843–1908)

knight of the See also:

• BATH
• BATH, THOMAS THYNNE
• BATH, WILLIAM

Bath . He died, according to the inscription on his See also:

• TOMB (Gr. Tuµ/3a, Tuµ(3os, probably allied to Lat. tumulus, literally a swelling, tumere, to swell)

tomb in See also:

• WORCESTER
• WORCESTER, EARLS AND MARQUESSES OF
• WORCESTER, JOHN TIPTOFT, EARL OF (1427—1470)
• WORCESTER, WILLIAM (c. 1415-c. 1482)

Worcester See also:

• CATHEDRAL

cathedral, on the 23rd of See also:

• AUGUST (originally Sextilis)

August 1481 . He married, about 1444, See also:

• JOAN

Joan, widow of Sir See also:

• PHILIP
• PHILIP (Gr.'FiXtrsro , fond of horses, from dn)^eiv, to love, and limos, horse; Lat. Philip pus, whence e.g. M. H. Ger. Philippes, Dutch Filips, and, with dropping of the final s, It. Filippo, Fr. Philippe, Ger. Philipp, Sp. Felipe)
• PHILIP, JOHN (1775-1851)
• PHILIP, KING (c. 1639-1676)
• PHILIP, LANOGRAVE OF HESSE (1504-1567)

Philip Chetwind of Ingestrie in See also:

• STAFFORD
• STAFFORD, EARLS AND MARQUESSES OF

Stafford-See also:

• SHIRE

shire, and by her had three sons, through whom he became ancestor of the families holding the peerages of See also:

• COBHAM

Cobham (formerly See also:

• LYTTELTON
• LYTTELTON, GEORGE LYTTELTON, 1ST BARON (17o9-1773)

Lyttelton, q.v.) and See also:

• HATHERTON, EDWARTI JOHN LITTLETON, 1ST BARON (1791–1863)

Hatherton . His See also:

• TREATISE

Treatise on Tenures was probably written after he had been appointed to the See also:

• BENCH (an O.E. and Eng. form of a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Bank, Dan. baenk and the Eng. doublet " bank ")

bench . It is addressed to his second son See also:

• RICHARD
• RICHARD (d. 1184)
• RICHARD, FRANCOIS MARIE BENJAMIN (18,9-1908)
• RICHARD, HENRY (1812-1888)
• RICHARD, ST

Richard, who went to the See also:

• BAR
• BAR (0. Fr. barre, Late Lat. barra, origin unknown)
• BAR, CONFEDERATION OF
• BAR, FRANCOIS DE (1538-1606)
• BAR, THE

bar, and whose name occurs in the year books of the reign of See also:

• HENRY
• HENRY (1129-1195)
• HENRY (c. 1108-1139)
• HENRY (c. 1174–1216)
• HENRY (Fr. Henri; Span. Enrique; Ger. Heinrich; Mid. H. Ger. Heinrich and Heimrich; O.H.G. Haimi- or Heimirih, i.e. " prince, or chief of the house," from O.H.G. heim, the Eng. home, and rih, Goth. reiks; compare Lat. rex " king "—" rich," therefore " mig
• HENRY, EDWARD LAMSON (1841– )
• HENRY, JAMES (1798-1876)
• HENRY, JOSEPH (1797-1878)
• HENRY, MATTHEW (1662-1714)
• HENRY, PATRICK (1736–1799)
• HENRY, PRINCE OF BATTENBERG (1858-1896)
• HENRY, ROBERT (1718-1790)
• HENRY, VICTOR (1850– )
• HENRY, WILLIAM (1795-1836)

Henry VII . The See also:

• BOOK

book, both historically and from its See also:

• INTRINSIC (through Fr. intrinsique, from Lat. intrinsecus, inwardly; inter, within, secus, following, from root of sequi, to follow)

intrinsic merit, may be characterized as the first See also:

• TEXT (Lat. textum, woven fabric, from texere, to weave)

text-book upon the English law of See also:

• PROPERTY

property . The law of property in Littleton's See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time was mainly concerned with rights over See also:

• LAND

land, and it was the law See also:

• RELATING

relating to this class of rights which Littleton set himself to See also:

• DIGEST

digest and classify . The time was ripe for the task . Ever since the See also:

• CONQUEST

Conquest See also:

• REGULAR

regular courts of justice had been at See also:

• WORK

work administering a law which had grown out of an admixture of See also:

• TEUTONIC
• TEUTONIC (GERMANIC) LANGUAGES

Teutonic See also:

• CUSTOM (from O. Fr. costume, costume or coustume; Low Lat. costuma, a shortened form of consuetudo)

custom and of See also:

• NORMAN
• NORMAN, SIR HENRY WYLIE (1826-1904)

Norman See also:

• FEUDALISM
• FEUDALISM (from Late Lat. feodum or feudum, a fee or fiel; see FEE)

feudalism . Under Henry II. the courts had been organized, and the practice of keeping regular records of the proceedings had been carefully observed .

The centralizing See also:

• INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence of the royal courts and of the justices of assize, working steadily through three centuries, had made the rules governing the law of property See also:

• UNIFORM

uniform throughout the land; See also:

• LOCAL

local customs were confined within certain prescribed limits, and were only recognized as giving rise to certain well-defined classes of rights, such, for instance, as the See also:

• SECURITY (Lat. securus, free from care, safe)

security of See also:

• TENURE (Fr. tenure, from Lat. tenere, to hold)

tenure acquired by villeins by virtue of the custom of the manor, and the rights of freeholders, in some towns, to dispose of their land by will . Thus, by the time of Littleton (Henry VI. and See also:

• EDWARD

Edward IV.), an immense See also:

• MASS (O.E. maesse; Fr. messe; Ger. Messe; Ital. messa; from eccl. Lat. missa)
• MASS, IN

mass of material had been acquired and preserved in the rolls of the various courts . Reports of important cases were published in the " year books." A glance at Statham's Abridgment, the earliest digest of decided cases, published nearly at the same time as Littleton's Tenures, is sufficient to show the enormous bulk which reported cases had already attained as materials for the knowledge of English law . Littleton's treatise was written in that See also:

• PECULIAR

peculiar See also:

• DIALECT (from Gr. Sia stcror, conversation, manner of speaking, &aXeyec6at, to converse)

dialect compounded of Norman-See also:

• FRENCH
• FRENCH, DANIEL CHESTER (1850– )
• FRENCH, NICHOLAS (1604-1678)

French and English phrases called law French . Although it had been provided by a statute of 36 Edward III. that viva See also:

• VOTE

vote proceedings in See also:

• COURT
• COURT (from the O. Fr. court, Late Lat. cortis, curtis, a popular form of class. Lat. cohors, gen. cohortis; the mod. Fr. form tour is due to the influence of the Lat. curia, the word used in medieval documents to translate " court " in the feudal sense)
• COURT, ANTOINE (1696-176o)

court should no longer be conducted in the French See also:

• TONGUE (O. Eng. lunge)

tongue, " which was much unknown in the See also:

• REALM

realm," the practice of See also:

• REPORTING

reporting proceedings in that See also:

• LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language, and of using it in legal See also:

• TREATISES

treatises, lingered till a much later See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period, and was at length prohibited by a statute passed in the time of the See also:

• COMMONWEALTH

Commonwealth in 165o . Unlike the preceding writers on English law, Glanville, See also:

• BRACTON, HENRY DE (d. 1268)

Bracton and the authors of the treatises known by the names of See also:

• BRITTON
• BRITTON, JOHN (1771–1857)

Britton and See also:

• FLETA

Fleta, Little-ton borrows nothing from the See also:

• SOURCES

sources of See also:

• ROMAN

Roman law or the commentators . He deals exclusively with English law . The book is written on a definite See also:

• SYSTEM

system, and is the first See also:

• ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt at a scientific See also:

• CLASSIFICATION (Lat. classis, a class, probably from the root cal-, cla-, as in Gr. icaMce, clamor)

classification of rights over land . Little-ton's method is to begin with a See also:

• DEFINITION (Lat. definitio, from de-finire, to set limits to, describe)

definition, usually clearly and briefly expressed, of the class of rights with which he is dealing . He then proceeds to illustrate the various characteristics and incidents of the class by stating particular instances, some of which refer to decisions which had actually occurred, but more commonly they are hypothetical cases put by way of See also:

• ILLUSTRATION

illustration of his principles . He occasionally refers to reported cases . His book is thus much more than a See also:

• MERE
• MERE, ADALBERT (1838-1909)

mere digest of judicial decisions; to some extent he pursues the method which gave to Roman law its breadth and consistency of principle .

In Roman law this result was attained through the practice of putting to jurisconsults hypothetical cases to be solved by them . Littleton, in like manner, is constantly stating and solving by reference to principles of law cases which may or may not have occurred in actual practice . In dealing with See also:

• FREEHOLD

freehold estates Littleton adopts a classification which has been followed by all writers who have attempted to systematize the English law of land, especially Sir M . See also:

• HALE, EDWARD EVERETT (1822-1909)
• HALE, HORATIO (1817–1896)
• HALE, JOHN PARKER (1806–1873)
• HALE, NATHAN (1756-1776)
• HALE, SIR MATTHEW (1609-1676)
• HALE, WILLIAM GARDNER (1849- )

Hale and Sir William See also:

• BLACKSTONE, SIR WILLIAM (1723-1780)

Blackstone . It is indeed the only possible approach to a scientific arrangement of the intricate " estates in land " known to English law . He classifies estates in land by reference to their duration, or in other words by reference to the See also:

• DIFFERENCES, CALCULUS OF (Theory of Finite Differences)

differences between the persons who are entitled to succeed upon the See also:

• DEATH

death of the See also:

• PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person in See also:

• POSSESSION
• POSSESSION (Lat. possessio, possidere, to possess)

possession or " See also:

• TENANT (from Lat. tenere, to hold)

tenant." First of all, he describes the characteristics of tenancy in See also:

• FEE

fee See also:

• SIMPLE

simple . This is still as it was in Littleton's time the largest See also:

• INTEREST

interest in land known to the law . Next in See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order comes tenancy in fee tail, the various classes of which are sketched by Littleton with brevity and accuracy, but he is silent as to the important practice, which first received judicial recognition shortly before his death, of " suffering a recovery," whereby through a See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of judicial See also:

• FICTIONS

fictions a tenant in tail was enabled to convert his See also:

• ESTATE (through O. Fr. estat, mod. flat, from Lat. status, state, condition, position, stare, to stand)

estate tail into a fee simple, thus acquiring full See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power of See also:

• ALIENATION (from Lat. alienus, belonging to another)

alienation . After discussing in their logical order other freehold interests in land, he passes to interests in land called by later writers interests less than freehold, namely, tenancies for terms of years and tenancies at will . With the exception of tenancy from year to year, now so See also:

• FAMILIAR (through the Fr. familier, from Lat. familiaris, of or belonging to the familia, family)

familiar to us, but which was a judicial creation of a date later than the time of Littleton, the first book is a See also:

• COMPLETE

complete statement of the principles of the common law, as they for the most See also:

• PART

part still exist, governing and regulating interests in lands . The first book concludes with a very interesting See also:

• CHAPTER (a shortened form of chapiter, a word still used in architecture for a capital; derived from O. Fr. chapitre, Lat. capitellum, diminutive of caput, head)

chapter on copy-hold tenures, which marks the exact point at which the tenant by copy of court See also:

• ROLL (O. Fr. rolle, roulle, mod. role, Lat. rotulus, dim. of rota, wheel)
• ROLL, ALFRED PHILIPPE (1846– )

roll, the successor of the villein, who in his turn represented the See also:

• FREEMAN
• FREEMAN, EDWARD AUGUSTUS (1823-1892)

freeman reduced to See also:

• VILLENAGE (VILLAINAGE, VILLANAGE, VILLEINAGE)

villenage by the growth of the manorial system, acquired security of tenure . The second book relates to the reciprocal rights and duties of lord and tenant, and is mainly of See also:

• HISTORICAL

historical interest to the See also:

• MODERN

modern lawyer .

It contains a complete statement of the law as it stood in Littleton's time relating to See also:

• HOMAGE (from homo, through the Low Lat. hominaticum, which occurs in a document of 1035)

homage, fealty and escuage, the See also:

• MONEY

money See also:

• COMPENSATION (from Lat. compensare, to weigh one thing against another)

compensation to be paid to the lord in lieu of military service to be rendered to the See also:

• KING
• KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
• KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
• KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
• KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
• KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
• KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
• KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
• KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
• KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
• KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
• KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)

king, a peculiar characteristic of English as distinguished from See also:

• CONTINENTAL

Continental feudalism . Littleton then proceeds to See also:

• NOTICE

notice the important features of tenure by knight's service with its distinguishing incidents of the right of wardship of the lands and person of the See also:

• INFANT (in early forms enfaunt, enfant, through the Fr. enfant, from Lat. infans, in, not, and fans, the present participle of fari, to speak)

infant See also:

• HEIR (Lat. heres, from a root meaning to grasp, seen in heres or erus, master of a house, Gr. xeip, hand, Sans. hat ana, hand)

heir or heiress, and the right of disposing of the See also:

• WARD
• WARD, ADOLPHUS WILLIAM (1837- )
• WARD, ARTEMUS
• WARD, EDWARD MATTHEW (1816-1879)
• WARD, ELIZABETH STUART PHELPS (1844-1911)
• WARD, JAMES (1769--1859)
• WARD, JAMES (1843– )
• WARD, JOHN QUINCY ADAMS (1830-1910)
• WARD, LESTER FRANK (1841– )
• WARD, MARY AUGUSTA [MRS HUMPHRY WARD]
• WARD, WILLIAM (1766-1826)
• WARD, WILLIAM GEORGE (1812-1882)

ward in marriage . The non-military freehold tenures are next dealt with; we have an See also:

• ACCOUNT
• ACCOUNT (through O. Fr. acont, Late Lat. comptum, cornputare, to calculate)

account of " See also:

• SOCAGE

socage tenure," into which all military tenures were subsequently commuted by a now unrecognized See also:

• ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act of the See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

Long See also:

• PARLIAMENT (Anglo-Lat. parliamentum, Fr. parlement, from parler, to speak)

Parliament in 1650, afterwards re-enacted by the well-known statute of See also:

• CHARLES
• CHARLES (1270-1325)
• CHARLES (1421-1461)
• CHARLES (1525-1574)
• CHARLES (c. 1319-1364)
• CHARLES (Fr. Charles; Span. Carlos; Ital. Carlo; Ger. Karl; derived from O.H.G. Charal,latinized as Carolus, meaning originally " man ": cf. Mod.Ger., Kerl," fellow," A.S. ceorl, Mod. Eng. " churl ")
• CHARLES (KARL EITEL ZEPHYRIN LUDWIG; in Rum. CAROL)
• CHARLES [KARL ALEXANDER] (1712-1780)
• CHARLES, ELIZABETH (1828-1896)
• CHARLES, JACQUES ALEXANDRE CESAR (1746-1823)
• CHARLES, THOMAS (1755-1814)

Charles II . (166o), and of " frankalmoign," or the spiritual tenure by which churchmen held . In the description of See also:

• BURGAGE (from Lat. burghs, a borough)

burgage tenure and tenure in villenage, the See also:

• LIFE

life of which consists in the validity of See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient customs recognized by law, we recognize survivals of a time before the See also:

• IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron See also:

• RULE

rule of feudalism had moulded the law of land in the interests of the king and the See also:

• GREAT

great lords . Finally he deals with the law of rents, discussing the various kinds of rents which may be reserved to the grantor upon a grant of lands and the remedies for recovery of See also:

• RENT

rent, especially the remedy by See also:

• DISTRESS

distress.' The third and concluding book of Littleton's treatise deals mainly with the various ways in which rights over land can be acquired and terminated in the See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case of a single possessor or several possessors . This leads him to discuss the various modes in which several persons may simultaneously have rights over the same land, as parceners:—daughters who are co-heiresses, or sons in See also:

• GAVELKIND

gavelkind; See also:

• JOINT (through Fr. from Lat. junctum, jungere, to join)

joint tenants and tenants in common . Next follows an elaborate discussion upon what are called estates upon See also:

• CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition—a class of interests which occupied a large space in the See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early common law, giving rise on one See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

side to estates tail, on another to mortgages . In Littleton's time a See also:

• MORTGAGE

mortgage, which he carefully describes, was merely a See also:

• CONVEYANCE

conveyance of land by the tenant to the mortgagee, with a condition that, if the tenant paid to the mortgagee a certain sum on a certain See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

day, he might re-enter and have the land again . If the condition was not fulfilled, the interest of the mortgagee became See also:

• ABSOLUTE (Lat. absolvere, to loose, set free)

absolute, and Littleton gives no indication of any modification of this strict rule, such as was introduced by courts of See also:

• EQUITY (Lat. aequitas)

equity, permitting the debtor to redeem his land by See also:

• PAYMENT (Fr. paiement, from payer, to pay; Lat. pacare, to appease, pax, peace)

payment of all that was See also:

• CLUE

clue to the mortgagee although the day of payment had passed, and his interest had become at law indefeasible . The See also:

• REMAINDER, REVERSION

remainder of the work is occupied with an ex-position of a See also:

• MISCELLANEOUS

miscellaneous class of modes of acquiring rights of property, the See also:

• ANALYSIS (Gr. avci and Meta, to break up into parts)

analysis of which would occupy too large a space . The work is thus a complete See also:

• SUMMARY

summary of the common law as it stood at the time .

It is nearly silent as to the remarkable class of rights which had already assumed vast See also:

• PRACTICAL

practical importance—equitable interests in lands . These are only noticed incidentally in the chapter on " Releases." But it was already clear in Littleton's time that this class of rights would become the most important of all . Littleton's own will, which has been preserved, may be adduced in See also:

• PROOF (in M. Eng. preove, proeve, preve, &°c., from O. Fr . prueve, proeve, &c., mod. preuve, Late. Lat. proba, probate, to prove, to test the goodness of anything, probus, good)

proof of this assertion . Although nothing was more opposed to ' These two books are stated, in a See also:

• NOTE
• NOTE (Lat. nota, mark, sign, from noscere, to know)

note to the table at the conclusion of the work, to have been made for the better understanding of certain chapters of the Ancient Book of Tenures . This refers to a See also:

• TRACT (from Lat. tractare, to treat of a matter, through Provencal tractat and Ital. trattato)

tract called The Old Tenures, said to have been written in the reign of Edward III . By way of distinguishing it from this work, Littleton's book is called in all the early See also:

• EDITIONS

editions " Tenores See also:

• NOVELLI, ERMETE (1851- )

Novelli."the spirit of Norman feudalism than that a tenant of lands should dispose of them by will, we find Littleton directing by his will the feoffees of certain manors to make estates to the persons named in his will . In other words, in order to acquire over lands See also:

• POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers unknown to the common law, the lands had been conveyed to feoffees " who had full right over them according to the common law, but who were under a conscientious See also:

• OBLIGATION

obligation to exercise those rights at the direction and for the exclusive benefit of the person to whose " use " the lands were held . This conscientious obligation was recognized and enforced by the See also:

• CHANCELLOR (M. Eng. and Anglo-Fr. canceler, chanceler, Fr. chancelier, Lat. cancellarius)

chancellor, and thus arose the class of equitable interests in lands . Littleton is the first writer on English law after these rights had risen into a prominent position, and it is curious to find to what extent they are ignored by him . There are three early See also:

• MSS

MSS. of Littleton in the University Library at See also:

• CAMBRIDGE
• CAMBRIDGE, EARLS AND DUKES OF
• CAMBRIDGE, RICHARD OWEN (1717-1802)

Cambridge . One of these formerly contained a note on its first See also:

• PAGE
• PAGE, THOMAS NELSON (1853- )
• PAGE, WILLIAM (1811-1885)

page to the effect that it was bought in St See also:

• PAUL
• PAUL (PAULUS)

Paul's See also:

• CHURCHYARD
• CHURCHYARD, THOMAS (c. 152o-16o4)

Churchyard on See also:

• JULY

July 20, 1480 . It was therefore in circulation in Littleton's lifetime .

The other two MSS. are of a somewhat later date; but one of them contains what seems to be the earliest English See also:

• TRANSLATION

translation of the Tenures, and is probably not later than 1500 . In the 16th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century editions of Littleton followed in rapid See also:

• SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession from the presses of Pynson, Redmayne, Berthelet, Tottyl and others . The practice of annotating the text caused several additions to be introduced, which, however, are easily detected by comparison of the earlier copies . In 1581 See also:

• WEST
• WEST, BENJAMIN (1738-1820)
• WEST, NICHOLAS (1461-1533)

West divided the text into 746 sections, which have ever since been preserved . Many of these editions were printed with large margins for purposes of annotation, specimens of which may be seen in See also:

• LINCOLN
• LINCOLN, ABRAHAM (1809-1865)
• LINCOLN, EARLS OF

Lincoln's See also:

• INN

Inn Library . The practice of annotating Littleton was very See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general, and was adopted by many eminent lawyers besides Sir E . Coke, amongst others by Sir M . Hale . One commentary of this See also:

• KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind, by an unknown See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand of earlier date than Sir E . Coke's, was edited by See also:

• CARY, ALICE (1820-1871)
• CARY, ANNIE LOUISE (1842- )
• CARY, HENRY FRANCIS (1772-1844)

Cary in 1829 . Following the general practice of dealing with Littleton as the great authority on the law of See also:

• ENGLAND
• ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF

England, " the most perfect and absolute work that ever was written in any human See also:

• SCIENCE (Lat. scientia, from scire; to learn, know)

science," Sir E . Coke made it in 1628 the text of that portion of his work which he calls the first part of the institutes of the law of England, in other words, the law of property .

The first printed English translation of Littleton was by See also:

• RASTELL (or RASTALL), JOHN (d. 1536)
• RASTELL, WILLIAM (c. 1508-1565)

Rastell, who seems to have combined the professions of author, printer and serjeant-at-law, between 1514 and 1533 . Many English editions by various editors followed, the best of which is Tottyl's in 1556 . Sir E . Coke adopted some translation earlier than this, which has since gone by the name of Sir E . Coke's translation . He, however, throughout comments not on the translation but on the French text; and the reputation of the commentary has to some extent obscured the intrinsic merit of the See also:

• ORIGINAL

original . See E . Wambaugh, Littleton's Tenures in English (See also:

• WASHINGTON
• WASHINGTON (or WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE)
• WASHINGTON, BOOKER TALIAFERRO (c. 1859– )
• WASHINGTON, BUSHROD (1762-1829)
• WASHINGTON, GEORGE (1732-1799)

Washington, D.C., 1903) .