I, I V 
horfes at livery ; the which word, I guefs, is derived of 
livering or delivering forth their nightly food ; fa in great 
houfes, the livery is faid to be ferved up for all night, that 
is, their evening allowance‘for drink; and livery is alfo 
called the upper weed which a ferving-man wears; fo 
called, I fuppofe, for that it was delivered and taken from 
him at pleafure : fo it is apparent, that, by the word livery , 
is there meant horfe-meat, like as by the coigny is'under- 
ftood man’s meat. Spenfer on Ireland. —The clothes given 
to fervants.—If your dinner mifearries, you were teized 
by the footmen coming into the kitchen ; and, to prove it 
true, throw a ladleful of broth on one or two of their live¬ 
ries. Swift. 
Ev’ry lady cloth’d in white. 
And crown'd with oak and laurel ev’ry knight, 
Are fervants to the leaf, by liveries known 
Of innocence. Drydcn's Flower and Leaf. 
A particular drefs; a garb worn as a token or confequence 
of any thing: 
At once came forth whatever creeps the ground, 
Infeft, or worm: thofe wav'd their limber fans 
For wings, and fmalleft lineaments exaft, 
In all the liveries deck’d of Cummer’s pride, 
With fpots of gold and purple, azure, green. Milton. 
In London, the colleftive body of liverymen. The privi¬ 
lege of a particular company ; as, He was admitted to or 
upon the livery of the Stationer's’ company. 
Livery, in law, hath three lignifications. In one fenfe, 
it was ufed for a fuit of clothes, cloak, gown, hat, &c. 
which a nobleman or gentleman gave to his fervants or 
foilowers, mentioned in ftat. i Rd. II. c 7, and divers 
other itatutes. Formerly great men gave liveries to feve- 
ral who were not of their family, to engage them in their 
quarrels for that year; but afterwards it was ordained, 
that no man of any condition whatfoever fhould give 
any livery, but to his domeftics, his officers, or counfel 
learned in the law. By ftat. 1 Rd. II. it was prohibited 
on pain of imprifonment ; and the ftat. 1 Hen. IV. c. 7, 
made the offenders liable to ranfom at the king’s will, &c. 
which ftatule was farther confirmed and explained, 2 ■& 7 
Hen. IV. and by 8 Hen. VI. c. 4. and yet this offence was- 
fo deeply rooted, that Edward IV. was obliged to confirm 
the former ftatutes, and further to extend the meaning of 
them, adding a penalty of 5I. to every one who gave fuch 
livery, and the like on every one retained for maintenance 
either by writing, oath, or promife, for every month. But 
moft of the above itatutes are repealed by ftat. 3 Car. I. 
c. 4. 
Livery, in the fecond fignification, meant a delivery of 
poffeffion to thofe tenants who held of the king in capite, 
or knights iervice ; as the king by his prerogative hath 
pnmer feifin of all lands and tenements fo holden of him. 
Staundf Prcerog. 12. 
Iu the third fenfe, livery meant the writ which lay for 
the heir of age, to obtain the poffeffion of feifin of his lands 
at the king’s hands. F. N. 3 . 155. But, by ftat. 12 Car. II. 
c. 24, all wardihips, liveries, &c. are taken away. 
Livery of Seisin ; a delivery of poffeffion of lands, te¬ 
nements, and hereditaments, unto one that hath a right 
to the fame; being a ceremony in the common law ufed 
in the conveyance of lands, &c. where an eftate of fee- 
limple, fee-tail, or other freehold, paffeth. Brail, lib. 2. c. 18. 
The common-law conveyance by feoffment is by no 
means p.erfefted by the mere words of the deed ; this ce¬ 
remony of livery of feifin is very material to be performed, 
for without this the feoffee has but a mere eftate at will. 
Lit. § 66. This livery of feifin is no other than the pure 
feodal invertiture or delivery of.corporal poffeffion of the 
land or tenement, which was held abfolutely neceffary to 
complete the donation. 2 Comm. c. 2 o.p. 3111. 
Inveftitures, in their original rife, were probably in¬ 
tended to demonftrate, in conquered countries, the aftual 
poffeffion of the lord ; and that he did not grant a bare 
litigious right-, which the foldier was iil qualified to profs- 
L I V 839 
cute, but a peaceable and firm poffeffion. And, at a 
time when writing was feidom praftited, a mere oral giftj. 
at a diftance from the fpot that was given, was not likely 
to be either long or accurately retained in the memory of 
the by-ftanders, who were very little inter'efted in the 
grant. Afterwards they were retained as a public and 
notorious aft, that the country might take notice of and 
teftify the transfer of the eftate ; and that fuch as claimed 
title by other means might know againft whom to bring 
their aftion. 2 Comm. 311. 
In ecclelialtical promotions, where the freehold paff'es 
to the perfon promoted, corporal poffeffion is required at 
this day to veil the property completely in the new pro¬ 
prietor. So alfo even in defeents of lands by our law, 
which are caft on the heir by aft of the law itfelf, the heir 
has not plenum dominium, or full and. complete ownerffiip, 
till he has made an aftual corporal entry into the lands; 
for, if lie dies before entry made, his heir fliall not be en¬ 
titled to take the poffeffion, but the heir of the perfon 
who was laft aftualiy feifed. 2 Comm. 312. 
The corpora] tradition of lands being fometimes incon¬ 
venient, a fymbolical delivery of poffeffion was in many 
cafes anciently allowed, by transferring fomething near at 
hand, in the prefence of credible witneffes, which by- 
agreement ftiould ferve to reprefent the very thing de- 
figned to be conveyed ; and an occupancy of this fign or 
fymbol was permitted as equivalent to occupancy of the 
land itfelf. To this day the conveyance of our copyhold 
eftates is ufually made from the feller to the lord or his 
fteward, by delivery of a rod or verge; and then from the 
lord to the purchafer, by delivery of the lame in the pre¬ 
fence of a jury of tenants. 2 Comm. 313. 
Conveyances in writing were the laft and moft refined 
improvement. Written deeds were introduced in order 
to fpecify and perpetuate the peculiar purpofes of the parlyc 
who conveyed ; yet Hill, for a very long feries of yearsf 
they were never made ufe of but in company with the 
more ancient and notorious method of transfer by delivery 
of corporal poffeffion. 2 Comm. 314. 
Livery of feifin, by the common law, is neceffary to be 
made upon every grant of an eftate of freehold, in here¬ 
ditaments corporeal: whether of inheritance or for life 
only. In hereditaments incorporeal it is impoffible to be 
made, for they are not objefts of the fenfes 5 and in leafes 
for years, or other chattei-interefts, it is not neceffary; the 
fclemnity being appropriated to the conveyance of a free¬ 
hold. And this is one reafon why freeholds cannot be 
made to commence in futuro, becaufe they cannot, at the 
common law, be made but by livery of feifin ; which li¬ 
very, being an aftual manual tradition of the land, mufti 
take effect in prafenti, or not at all. 2 Comm. 314. 
LIV'ERY-GOWN, /. The gown of a livery-man in. 
the city of London. 
LIV'ERY-MAN, f. One who wears a livery; a fervant 
of an inferior kind.—The witneffes made oath, that they, 
had heard fome of the livery-men frequently railing at their 
miftrefs. Arbuthnot. — [In London.] A privileged man of 
fome livery-company. 
In the companies of London, livery-men are chofen out 
of the freemen, as alfiftants to the matters and wardens, 
in matters of council, and for better government; and, if 
any one of the company refufe to take upon him the of¬ 
fice, he may be fined, and an aftion of debt will lie for 
the fum. Out of this body the common-council, fheriffs, 
aldermen, and other officers for the government of the 
city, are elefted; and they only have the privilege of giv¬ 
ing their votes in common-hall for members of parlia¬ 
ment, &c. from which the reft of the citizens are excluded. 
For the arms of the livery-companies, and other particu¬ 
lars, fee the article London, vol. xiii. 
LIV'ERY-OFFICE, f. An office appointed for the de¬ 
livery of lands. 
LIV'ERY-STABLE,/ A liable where horfes are takea 
care of at a certain price ; a liable where horfes Hand at 
livery, 
XIV£S s > 
