Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/236

 222 in uch general grants, whether this feud hall be held ut feudum paternum, or feudum avitum, but ut feudum antiquum merely, as a feud of indefinite antiquity; that is, ince it is not acertained from which of the ancetors of the grantee this feud hall be uppoed to have decended; the law will not acertain it, but will uppoe any of his ancetors, pro re nata, to have been the firt purchaor: and therefore it admits any of his collateral kindred (who have the other neceary requiites) to the inheritance, becaue every collateral kinman mut be decended from ome one of his lineal ancetors.

this nature are all the grants of fee-imple etates of this kingdom; for there is now in the law of England no uch thing as a grant of a feudum novum, to be held ut novum; unles in the cae of a fee-tail, and there we fee that this rule is trictly oberved, and none but the lineal decendants of the firt donee (or purchaor) are admitted: but every grant of lands in fee-imple is with us a feudum novum to be held ut antiquum, as a feud whoe antiquity is indefinite; and therefore the collateral kindred of the grantee, or decendants from any of his lineal ancetors, by whom the lands might have poibly been purchaed, are capable of being called to the inheritance.

, when an etate hath really decended in a coure of inheritance to the peron lat eied, the trict rule of the feodal law is till oberved; and none are admitted, but the heirs of thoe through whom the inheritance hath paed: for all others have demontrably none of the blood of the firt purchaor in them, and therefore hall never ucceed. As, if lands come to John Stiles by decent from his mother Lucy Baker, no relation of his father (as uch) hall ever be his heir of thee lands; and, vice vera, if they decended from his father Geoffrey Stiles, no relation of his mother (as uch) hall ever be admitted thereto; for his father's kindred have none of his mother's blood, nor have his mother's relations any hare of his father's blood. And o, if the etate decended from his father's father, George Stiles; Rh