The Principal Laws of England, Treatise · Part 44 – Part 45
❧ How landes and tenementes may be by testamēt or otherwise disposed, inacted .ā. xxxii. Hē. viii.
EUeryEvery person hauing landes or other hereditamētes holden in socage, or of ye nature of socage tenure, and not hauing any landes or hereditamētes holden of ye king by knightes seruice, or by socage tenure in cheif or of ye nature of socage tenure in cheife, nor yet of any other person by knightes seruice: shal from y• .xx. day of Iuly in the yeare of our lorde .M.D.Xl. hauehave full libertie & power to giuegive dispose & deuise aswel by testamēt in writing, as otherwise by any acte laufully executed in his life, al his said landes or hereditamentes or any of them.
And eueryevery person hauing landes or other hereditamētes holdē of y• kinge in socage or of the nature of socage tenure in cheife, and hauing also any other landes or hereditamentes holden of any other person in socage or of the nature of socage tenure, & not hauing any hereditamentes holden of y• king or of any other by knyghtes seruice: may from the sayd tyme giuegive and deuise as wel by testament in writing, as otherwise by any acte laufully executed in his life: al his sayd landes and hereditamentes or any of them at his pleasure. Sauing to the king all his right of primer season & reliefes, aud also all other rightes & duties for tenures in socage or of the nature of socage tenure in chief, as hertofore hath bene accustomed, the same landes or hereditamentes to be taken and sued out of the kinges handes by the person to whom any such landes shalbe disposed willed or deuised in like maner as hath bene vsed by any heire or heires before the making of this statute. And sauing and reseruinge also fines for alienations of suche landes tenementes or hereditamentes holdē of the king in socage or of the nature of socage tenure in chiefe wherof shal be any alteration of frehold or inheritance made by wyl or otherwise as is aforesayd.
Item al persones hauing landes or other hereditamētes of estate of inheritance holden of the king in chiefe by knightes seruice or of ye nature of knightes seruice in chiefe: shal in like maner hauehave power to giuegive wyl or as… signe two parties of the same in three partes to be deuided or elles as much of the same as shal amount to the yer…y value of two partes of the same in three partes to be deuided in certaintie and by special diuisions as it may be knowne in seueraltie for ye aduācement of his wife prefermēt of his children and payment of his dettes or otherwise at his pleasure. Sauing to the King aswel the wardship and primer season of as moch as shal amoūt to the clere yerely value of the thirde parte therof wtout diminution dower fraude couein charge or abridgement therof: as also al fines for alienations of al such landes and tenementes so holden of him by knightes seruice in chief, wherof there shal be any alteration of frehold or of inheritance made by wyl or otherwise.
And eueryevery person hauing lādes or truementes of estate of inheritaunce holden of the king in chief by knightꝭ seruice, & other landes holden of him or of any other by knightes seruice or otherwise, shall from the saide .xx. day of Iuly hauehave poure to giuegive or assigne by his testament or otherwise as is aforesayd two partes of ye same in thre partes to be diuided or elles as moch therof as shal extende to y• yearly value of two partes of the same in three partes to be diuided in certainty. Sauing to the king y• wardship & primer season of as moch thereof, as shall amounte to the yerely value of ye third part, wtout diminution dower couein charge or subtractiō of the same or of the ful profittes therof. Sauing also al fines for alienations as is abouesayde.
Item eueryevery person holding landꝭ or other hereditamentes onelyonly of any other than of y• King by knightes seruice and other landes and tenemētes in socage or of ye nature of socage tenure maye gyue dispose or assure by testament or otherwise as is aforesaid two partes therof holden by knightes seruice or as moch as shal amount to the ful yerely value of two partes in maner aboue declared: And also al the landes and tenementes holden by socage or of the nature of socage tenure at his pleasure. Sauing to the lorde of the landes and tenementes holden by knightes seruice for his wardship as moch therof as shal amount to the clere yearly value of the thirde parte wtout any diminutiō dower fraud. &c
And eueryevery person holdinge onelyonly of ye King by knightes seruice but not in chief, or holdīg of y• king by knightes seruice and not in chiefe, and also other hereditamentes of others by knightes seruice and holding also other hereditamentes of any other person in socage or of y• nature of socage tenure: may giuegive deuise and assure by his last will or otherwise two partes of the hereditamentes holden of the king by knightes seruice & two partꝭ of the hereditamentes holden of any other persō by knightes seruice, or as moch of either of them as shal amoūt to the ful yearly value of two partes and also al his landes and tenemētes so holdē in socage or of ye nature of socage tenure. Sauing as wel to ye king the wardship of as moch as shall extende to the clere yearely value of the thirde parte of the same so holden of him by knightes seruice without diminution &c. As also to the lordes of whom any of the said landes or other hereditamētes bene holden by knightes seruice for wardshyp as moche of the same so holdē of them by that seruice, as shal amount to the clere yerly value of the thirde parte in maner aboue declared.
Prouided, that if that thirde parte whiche in any of the cases abouesayd shal come to the king do not amount to the clere yearly value of the ful .iii, part of all the sayde hereditamentes whereof ye king shalbe intitled to hauehave the custody or primer season: than the kinge maye take into his handes as moch of thother two partes of ye sayd hereditamētes as with that of ye same hereditamētes remayning in his hā des shal make vp the clere yearly value of the thirde parte of ye said lādes and tenementes so to be had to him in title of wardship and primer seasō. And like benefyte to be giuen to euerie lorde of whom any such hereditamentes shall be holden by knightes seruice concernīg only his third part for title of wardship.
Also al persons shal sue their lyueries for possessions reuersions or remaynders, and also pay reliefes and heriettes like as they shuld hauehave done before y• making herof. And fines for alienatiōs shal be payd in the Chancery vponupon writtes of entre in the post to be obteined there after the sayd .xx. day of Iuly for common recoueries to be suffered of any landes holden of the king in chiefe in lyke maner as is vsed vppon alienations of landes so holden in chief by fi…e or feoffement.
Prouided that in such cases where fines for alienations shall be paid in the Chancery for writtes of entre in the poste as is aforesayde, none other fine shalbe payd in the same court for any such writtes.
Item where two or more persons holde of the king by knightes seruice ioyntly to them & to the heires of one of them, and he that hath the inheritaunce therof dyeth, his heire beinge wtin age: the king shal hauehave y• warde and mariage of the body of such heire the life of the freholder or freholders of the landes so holden by knightes seruice notwithstanding.
Sauing to al women such right & title of dower as they owe to hauehave of any landes or tenementes by the lawes of this realme to be assigned vntounto them out of y• two partes of the said landes or tenementes seuered frō the thirde parte as is abouesaide and not otherwise. And sauing also to the king the reuersions of al such tenātes in ioyntenure and dower immediatly after ye death of such tenantes, if they shal happen to die, during y• none age of the kinges wardes.
❧ Of mariagies, inacted .ā. 32. Hen. 8.
IT is inacted, that from ye first day of Iuly, in the yeare of our Lorde a .M.D. and .XL. al mariages within this churche of Englande contracted betwene lawful persōs, as by this act we declare al persōs to be lauful that be not prohibited by gods law to mary, such mariages being contract and solemnised in the face of the church & consummate with bodily knowledge or frute of chyldren or chylde beynge had therin betwene y• parties so maryed, shal be demed & taken to be laufull good & indissoluble, not withstādyng any precontract of matrimony not cō sūmate with bodily knowlege whiche either of y• persons so maried or both shal hauehave made with any other before the time of contracting that mariage which is solemnised and consūmate, or wherof such frute is ensued or may ensue as afore: and not withstanding any dispensation prescription law or other thynge graunted or confirmed by acte or otherwise: And that no reseruation or prohibition, godes lawe excepte, shal trouble or impeache any mariage without leuiticall degrees. And that no person shal after the said fyrst day of Iuly aforesaid, be admitted in any of the spirituall courtes wt in this the kinges realme, or any hys other landes and dominions, to any processe plee or allegation contrary to this acte.
FINIS.
EX AEDIBVS RICHARDI TAVERNERI, PER RICHARDVM BANKES TYPOGRAPHVM.
Cū priuilegio ad imprimendum solum.
End of the text · Richard Taverner, The Principal Laws of England (1540)