Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/311

 Ch. 20.

N treating of deeds I hall conider, firt, their general nature; and, next, the everal orts or kinds of deeds, with their repective incidents. And in explaining the former, I hall examine, firt, what a deed is; econdly, it's requiites; and, thirdly, how it may be avoided.

I. then, a deed is a writing ealed and delivered by the parties. It is ometimes called a charter, carta, from it's materials; but mot uually, when applied to the tranactions of private ubjects, it is called a deed, in Latin factum, , becaue it is the mot olemn and authentic act that a man can poibly perform, with relation to the dipoal of his property; and therefore a man hall always be etopped by his own deed, or not permitted to aver or prove any thing in contradiction to what he has once o olemnly and deliberately avowed. If a deed be made by more parties than one, there ought to be regularly as many copies of it as there are parties, and each hould be cut or indented (formerly in acute angles intar dentium, but at preent in a waving line) on the top or ide, to tally or correpond with the other; which deed, o made, is called an indenture. Formerly, when deeds were more concie than at preent, it was uual to write both parts on the ame piece of parchment, with ome word or letters of the alphabet written between them; through which the parchment was cut, either in a trait or indented line, in uch Rh