THE USE OF THE LAW. 225 



cannot serve by her sex, then the king is not to have the 

 lands, she being of fourteen years of age, because she is 

 then able to have a husband that may do the service in 

 person. 



The third institution, that upon every gift of land the 3. institution of 

 king reserved a vow and an oath to bind the party to his the Conqueror 

 faith and loyalty:* that vow was called homage, the oath Ss r 1 &quot;^ 6 

 fealty. Homage is to be done kneeling, holding his hands knight s service 

 between the knees of the lord, saying, in the French tongue, vow unt . lo y- 

 I become your man of life and limb, and of earthly honour. alt ,^ T u lch lie 



T lj-yi i 111 i J -,-, called homage, 



realty is to take an oath, upon a book, that he will be a and make unto 

 faithful tenant to the king, and do his service, and pay his hi . m oath of llis 

 rents according to his tenure. cau eiTfealt WaS 



The fourth institution was, that for recognizonf of the a i! Homage. 

 king s bounty by every heir succeeding his ancestor in 2 - Fealty. 

 those knight s service lands, the king should have primer ^^ u 

 seisin of the lands, which is one year s profit of the lands, zon of the king s 

 and until this be paid the king is to have possession of the bounty, to be 

 land, and then to restore it to the heir ; which continueth ^^17 

 at this day in use, and is the very cause of suing livery, death^fhisan- 

 and that as well where the heir hath been in ward as cestor which is 

 otherwise. 



These beforementioned be the rights of the tenure called called prmer 

 knight s service in capite, which is as much to say, as tenure seisi . n - , 

 de persona regis, and capite being the chiefest part of the ^^ca^teis 

 person, it is called a tenure in capite, or in chief. And it a tenure Xper- 

 is also to be noted, that as this tenure in capite by knight s sona Re s is &amp;gt; 

 service generally was a great safety to the crown, so also J^nTle/Lt 

 the Conqueror instituted other tenures in capite necessary were to pay re - 

 to his estate ; as, namely, he gave divers lands to be holden lief at the ful1 

 of him by some special service about his person, or by hff r wS y W as 

 bearing some special office in his house, or in the field, one year s vaTS 

 which have knight s service and more in them, and these of the lands so 

 he called tenures by grand serjeanty. Also he provided, h ^f s ultra Re ~ 

 upon the first gift of lands, to have revenues by continual Grand ser- 

 service of ploughing his land, repairing his houses, parks, J eant y- 

 _____ _ _____ _ _ Petty serjeanty. 



* Aid money to make the king s eldest son a knight, or to marry his eldest 

 daughter, is likewise due to his majesty from every one of his tenants in knight s 

 service, that hold by a whole fee, twenty shillings, and from every tenant in 

 soccage if his land be worth twenty pounds per annum, twenty shillings, vide 

 N. 3. fol. 82. 



t Escuage was likewise due unto the king from his tenant by knight s service ; 

 when his majesty made a voyage royal to war against another nation, those of 

 his tenants that did not attend him there for forty days, with horse and furniture 

 fit for service, were to be assessed in a certain sum by act of parliament, to be 

 paid unto his majesty ; which assessment is called escuage. 

 VOL. XIII. Q 



