Livery of seisin

Livery of seisin

Livery of seisin is an archaic legal ceremony, once practiced in England and in other countries following English common law, to convey property. The common law in those jurisdictions once provided that a valid conveyance of a fee interest in land required the physical transfer by the transferor to the transferee,in the presence of witnesses, of a piece of the ground (often, in the literal sense of a hand-to-hand passing of an amount of soil), a twig, key, or other symbol.

Livery of seisin could refer to either:
* "livery in deed," whereby the parties actually went on to the land, and the transferor symbolically delivered possession of the land by handing over a twig or a clump of earth to the recipient, or
* "livery in law," whereby the parties went within sight of the land and the transferor telling the recipient that possession was being given, followed by the recipient entering the land.

Turf and twig ceremony

The turf and twig ceremony dates from the 12th century, and was practiced regularly during English colonialism to take sovereign possession over unclaimed lands.

The process has taken several forms over the centuries. Dr. Bernulf Hodge in "A History of Malmesbury" describes the process as::"The lucky new Commoner goes to his "given" acre and cuts a turf from the selected site and drops two shillings in the hole made. The High Steward then twitches him with a twig and sticks the twig in the turf, then hands it to him saying, "This turf and twig I give to thee, as free as Athelstan gave to me, and I hope a loving brother thou wilt be." The High Steward then takes the money out of the hole and the new landowner replaces the turf." [http://www.davidforward.co.uk/hodge/15.php]

The practice was discontinued in the late 17th century.

ee also

*Sasine
*Seisin


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • livery of seisin — liv·ery of seisin / li və rē / [livery delivery, handing over, from Anglo French liveree, from Old French livré, from livrer to hand over, from Latin liberare to free]: an ancient ceremony for conveyance of land by the symbolic transfer of a… …   Law dictionary

  • livery of seisin — /liv(3)riy sv siyzan/ The appropriate ceremony, at common law, for transferring the corporal possession of lands or tenements by a grantor to his grantee. It was livery in deed where the parties went together upon the land, and there a twig, clod …   Black's law dictionary

  • livery of seisin — /liv(3)riy sv siyzan/ The appropriate ceremony, at common law, for transferring the corporal possession of lands or tenements by a grantor to his grantee. It was livery in deed where the parties went together upon the land, and there a twig, clod …   Black's law dictionary

  • Livery in seisin — The action of giving or transferring land or property, i.e. the *feoffment, done in a public manner, usually on the land itself …   Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases

  • livery of seisin — A ceremonial delivery of possession of real estate, long since obsolete, made in the presence of witnesses in the transfer of title to lands by feoffment. 23 Am J2d Deeds § 11 …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • Seisin — is the possession of such an estate in land as was anciently thought worthy to be held by a free man. (Williams, On Seisin , p. 2)EtymologySeisin comes from Middle English saysen , seysen , in the legal sense of to put in possession of, or to… …   Wikipedia

  • seisin — sei·sin or sei·zin / sēz ən/ n [Anglo French seisine, from Old French saisine act of taking possession, from saisir to seize, of Germanic origin] 1: the possession of land or chattels: as a: the possession of land arising from livery of seisin… …   Law dictionary

  • Livery in law — may refer to:* Livery of seisin: A term used in English law * Sasine: a term used in Scots law …   Wikipedia

  • Livery in deed — may refer to:* Livery of seisin: A term used in English law. * Sasine: a term used in Scots law …   Wikipedia

  • seisin — /siyzan/ Possession of real property under claim of freehold estate. The completion of the feudal investiture, by which the tenant was admitted into the feud, and performed the rights of homage and fealty. Possession with an intent on the part of …   Black's law dictionary

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