Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/106

 94 called in Latin, nativi, which gave rie to the female appellation of a villein, who was called a neife. In cae of a marriage between a freeman and a neife, or a villein and a freewoman, the iue followed the condition of the father, being free if he was free, and villein if he was villein; contrary to the maxim of the civil law, that partus equitur ventrem. But no batard could be born a villein, becaue by another maxim of our law he is nullius filius; and as he can gain nothing by inheritance, it were hard that he hould loe his natural freedom by it. The law however protected the perons of villeins, as the king's ubjects, againt atrocious injuries of the lord: for he might not kill, or maim his villein ; though he might beat him with impunity, ince the villein had no action or remedy at law againt his lord, but in cae of the murder of his ancetor or the maim of his own peron. Neifes indeed had alo an appeal of rape, in cae the lord violated them by force.

might be enfranchied by manumiion, which is either expres or implied: expres; as where a man granted to the villein a deed of manumiion : implied; as where a man bound himelf in a bond to his villein for a um of money, granted him an annuity by deed, or gave him an etate in fee, for life, or years : for this was dealing with his villein on the footing of a freeman; it was in ome of the intances giving him an action againt his lord, and in others veting an ownerhip in him entirely inconitent with his former tate of bondage. So alo if the lord brought an action againt his villein, this enfranchied him ; for, as the lord might have a hort remedy againt his villein, by eiing his goods, (which was more than equivalent to any damages he could recover) the law, which is always ready to catch at any thing in favour of liberty, preumed that by bringing this action he meant to et his villein on the ame footing Rh