ON THE INFLUENCE OF FEUDALISM. 51 



prays to be admitted tenant, and to whom the lord grants seisin (or 

 possession) of the estate, " to hold of him according to the custom 

 of the manor; and the new tenant rendering homage and fealty is 

 admitted tenant upon payment of the Jines and render of the ancient 

 tervices ; so that it will be perceived that every one of these words, 

 homage, surrender, tenant, fealty, fines, services, indicates in itself 

 the feudal nature of the tenure. And in case of the death of the 

 tenant without heirs, or his attainder for crime, the lord ascertains 

 the fact by the finding of the homage jury, and the estate con- 

 sequently escheating, he resumes the possession of it by his original 

 feudal rights. 



The other tenures excepted by the statute of Charles II., viz., 

 grand serjeanty, or fiefs of office, may be also described in the 

 words of Littleton. " This tenure," says he, " is when a man holds 

 *' his lands or tenements of our sovereign lord the king, by such 

 " services as he ought to do in his own proper person for the king, 

 " as to carry the banner of the king, or his lance, or to be his ma- 

 " reschal, or to carry his sword before him at his coronation, or to 

 " be his carver, or his butler, or to be one of his chamberlains at 

 " the receipt of his exchequer, or do other like services." And to 

 this day many of our nobles' estates are held by this tenure. For 

 example — Worksop manor is, I believe, held by the fief of office, of 

 supporting the sovereign's hand when crowned and sceptred ; and 

 as grand serjeanty consists of the performance of some honourable 

 sen'ice, so petty serjeanty also is a tenure of lands of the king by 

 the annual render of some implement of war, as a bow, a sword, or 

 a lance, an arrow, or the like. I believe the Duke of Wellington's 

 tenure of Strathfieldsaye is an instance of this kind. 



I have thus endeavoured to detail most of the remains of Feudal- 

 ism directly discernible in the institutions and customs of this coun- 

 try ; but if time permitted, I might further enlarge upon the subject 

 by shewing how we are indirectly benefitted in almost every condi- 

 tion of life by this system. Rigorous and oppressive as it was in its 

 own nature, yet its continuance and decline were attended with con- 

 sequences conductive to the best interests of our land. It fostered 

 that spirit of martial ardour in its formation and preservation of the 



