Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/60

 48 this feodal polity, which was thus by degrees etablihed over all the continent of Europe, eems not to have been received in this part of our iland, at leat not univerally and as a part of the national contitution, till the reign of William the Norman. Not but that it is reaonable to believe, from abundant traces in our hitory and laws, that even in the times of the Saxons, who were a warm from what ir William Temple calls the ame northern hive, omething imilar to this was in ue: yet not o extenively, nor attended with all the rigour that was afterwards imported by the Normans. For the Saxons were firmly ettled in this iland, at leat as early as the year 600: and it was not till two centuries after, that feuds arrived to their full vigour and maturity, even on the continent of Europe.

introduction however of the feodal tenures into England, by king William, does not eem to have been effected immediately after the conquet, nor by the mere arbitrary will and power of the conqueror; but to have been conented to by the great council of the nation long after his title was etablihed. Indeed from the prodigious laughter of the Englih nobility at the battle of Hatings, and the fruitles inurrections of thoe who urvived, uch numerous forfeitures had accrued, that he was able to reward his Norman followers with very large and extenive poeions: which gave a handle to the monkih hitorians, and uch as have implicitly followed them, to repreent him as having by right of the word eied on all the lands of England, and dealt them out again to his own favourites. A uppoition, grounded upon a mitaken ene of the word conquet; which, in it's feodal acceptation, ignifies no more than acquiition: and this has led many haty writers into a trange hitorical mitake, and one which upon the lightet examination will be found to be mot untrue. However, certain it is, that the Normans now began to gain very large poeions in England: and their regard for the feodal law, under which they had long lived, together Rh