Legacies and Legalities: Bequests of Land to Ecclesiastical Institutions in England c. 1180-1300

White, Sarah B.

Abstract

In English testamentary history, there is a clear divide between Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman testamentary practice, with the primary difference being that in the latter case, heritable land could not be bequeathed. Once the transfer of land required the livery of seisin, a practice introduced during the reign of Henry II (1154-89), it was not possible for a gift of land to take effect upon the death of the owner, and the royal courts did not consider the intention to dispose of a tenement, as expressed in a will, sufficient in itself to complete the transfer. Nonetheless, an examination of extant wills from the period 1180-1300 demonstrates that some testators (or indeed beneficiaries) may have thought that bequests of land were possible or even enforceable. How do these wills fit into the legal framework of the time? If a bequest could not be enforced in the royal courts, what reasons might someone have for attempting to make one, and how might they try to ensure that the bequest held?

Citation

White, S. B. (2025). Legacies and Legalities: Bequests of Land to Ecclesiastical Institutions in England c. 1180-1300. Law and History Review, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0738248024000324

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 27, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jan 27, 2025
• Publication Date: Jan 27, 2025
• Deposit Date: Sep 11, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 27, 2024
• Journal: Law and History Review
• Print ISSN: 0738-2480
• Electronic ISSN: 1939-9022
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 1-22
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0738248024000324
• Keywords: common law, canon law, wills, testaments, England, documentary history, legal history
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/39456695
• Publisher URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/law-and-history-review/article/legacies-and-legalities-bequests-of-land-to-ecclesiastical-institutions-in-england-c-11801300/0E72CC7EB323826D886DDA359C81F2EC