Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/113

 Ch. 6. copyholds: yet with this difference, that, in thee urrenders of lands in antient demene of frank tenure, it is not ued to ay "to hold at the will of the lord" in their copies, but only "to hold according to the cutom of the manor."

have we taken a compendious view of the principal and fundamental points of the doctrine of tenures, both antient and modern, in which we cannot but remark the mutual connexion and dependence that all of them have upon each other. And upon the whole it appears, that, whatever changes and alterations thee tenures have in proces of time undergone, from the Saxon aera to the 12 Car. II. all lay tenures are now in effect reduced to two pecies; free tenure in common ocage; and bae tenure by copy of court roll.

lay tenures only; becaue there is till behind one other pecies of tenure, reerved by the tatute of Charles II, which is of a piritual nature, and called the tenure in frankalmoign.

V. in frankalmoign, in libera eleemoyna, or free alms, is that, whereby a religious corporation, aggregate or ole, holdeth lands of the donor to them and their ucceors for ever. The ervice, which they were bound to render for thee lands was not certainly defined; but only in general to pray for the ouls of the donor and his heirs, dead or alive; and therefore they did no fealty, (which is incident to all other ervices but this ) becaue this divine ervice was of a higher and more exalted nature. This is the tenure, by which almot all the antient monateries and religious houes held their lands; and by which the parochial clergy, and very many eccleiatical and eleemoynary foundations, hold them at this day ; the nature of the ervice being upon the reformation altered, and made conformable to the purer doctrines Rh