Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/286

 270 tagnate; and that the lords were curtailed of the fruits of their igniories, their echeats, wardhips, reliefs, and the like: and therefore, in order to prevent this, it was ordained by the econd of king Henry III's great charters, and afterwards by that printed in our common tatute books, that all uch attempts hould be void, and the land forfeited to the lord of the fee.

, as this prohibition extended only to religious houes, bihops and other ole corporations were not included therein; and the aggregate eccleiatical bodies (who, ir Edward Coke oberves, in this were to be commended, that they ever had of their counel the bet learned men that they could get) found many means to creep out of this tatute, by buying in lands that were bona fide holden of themelves as lords of the fee, and thereby evading the forfeiture; or by taking long leaes for years, which firt introduced thoe extenive terms, for a thouand or more years, which are now o frequent in conveyances. This produced the tatute de religiois, 7 Edw. I; which provided, that no peron, religious or other whatoever, hould buy, or ell, or receive, under pretence of a gift, or term of years, or any other title whatoever, nor hould by any art or ingenuity appropriate to himelf, any lands or tenements in mortmain; upon pain that the immediate lord of the fee, or, on his default for one year, the lords paramount, and, in default of all of them, the king, might enter thereon as a forfeiture.

eemed to be a ufficient ecurity againt all alienations in mortmain: but, as thee tatutes extended only to gifts and conveyances between the parties, the religious houes now began to et up a fictitious title to the land, which it was intended they hould have, and to bring an action to recover it againt the tenant; Rh