Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/121

 Ch. 7. the predeceor. Nay, in a grant to a bihop, or other ole piritual corporation, in frankalmoign, the word "frankalmoign" upplies the place of both "heirs" and "ucceors," ex vi termini; and in all thee caes a fee-imple vets in uch ole corporation. But, in a grant of lands to a corporation aggregate, the word "ucceors" is not neceary, though uually inerted: for, albeit uch imple grant be trictly only an etate for life, yet, as that corporation never dies, uch etate for life is perpetual, or equivalent to a fee-imple, and therefore the law allows it to be one. Latly, in the cae of the king, a fee-imple will vet in him, without the words "heirs" or "ucceors" in the grant; partly from prerogative royal, and partly from a reaon imilar to the lat, becaue the king in judgment of law never dies. But the general rule is, that the word "heirs" is neceary to create an etate of inheritance.

II. are next to conider limited fees, or uch etates of inheritance as are clogged and confined with conditions, or qualifications, of any ort. And thee we may divide into two orts: 1. Qualified, or bae fees; and 2. Fees conditional, o called at the common law; and afterwards fees-tail, in conequence of the tatute de donis.

1., or qualified, fee is uch a one as has a qualification ubjoined thereto, and which mut be determined whenever the qualification annexed to it is at an end. As, in the cae of a grant to A and his heirs, tenants of the manor of Dale; in this intance, whenever the heirs of A ceae to be tenants of that manor, the grant is intirely defeated. So, when Henry VI granted to John Talbot, lord of the manor of Kington-Lile in Berks, that he and his heirs, lords of the aid manor, hould be peers of the realm, by the title of barons of Lile; here John Talbot had a bae or qualified fee in that dignity ; and the intant he or his heirs quitted the eignory of this manor, the dignity was at an Rh