Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/223

 Ch. 14. mut alo remember, that no peron can be properly uch an ancetor, as that an inheritance in lands or tenements can be derived from him, unles he hath had actual eiin of uch lands, either by his own entry, or by the poeion of his own or his ancetor's leee for years, or by receiving rent from a leee of the freehold : or unles he hath had what is equivalent to corporal eiin in hereditaments that are incorporeal; uch as the receipt of rent, a preentation to the church in cae of an advowon, and the like. But he hall not be accounted an ancetor, who hath had only a bare right or title to enter or be otherwie eied. And therefore all the caes, which will be mentioned in the preent chapter, are upon the uppoition that the deceaed (whoe inheritance is now claimed) was the lat peron actually eied thereof. For the law requires this notoriety of poeion, as evidence that the ancetor had that property in himelf, which is now to be tranmitted to his heir. Which notoriety hath ucceeded in the place of the antient feodal invetiture, whereby, while feuds were precarious, the vaal on the decent of lands was formerly admitted in the lord's court (as is till the practice in Scotland) and there received his eiin, in the nature of a renewal of his ancetors grant, in the preence of the feodal peers: till at length, when the right of ucceion became indefeaible, an entry on any part of the lands within the county (which if diputed was afterwards to be tried by thoe peers) or other notorious poeion, was admitted as equivalent to the formal grant of eiin, and made the tenant capable of tranmitting his etate by decent. The eiin therefore of any peron, thus undertood, makes him the root or tock, from which all future inheritance by right of blood mut be derived: which is very briefly expreed in this maxim, eiina facit tipitem. Rh