Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/79

 Ch. 5. ued; which uit being commonly within a year and day next after the death of the tenant, therefore the king ued to take at an average the firt fruits, that is to ay, one year's profits of the land. And this afterwards gave a handle to the popes, who claimed to be feodal lords of the church, to claim in like manner from every clergyman in England the firt year's profits of his benefice, by way of primitiae, or firt fruits.

4. payments were only due if the heir was of full age; but if he was under the age of twenty one, being a male, or fourteen, being a female, the lord was in titled to the wardhip of the heir, and was called the guardian in chivalry. This wardhip conited in having the cutody of the body and lands of uch heir, without any account of the profits, till the age of twenty one in males, and ixteen in females. For the law uppoed the heir-male unable to perform knight-ervice till twenty one; but as for the female, he was uppoed capable at fourteen to marry, and then her huband might perform the ervice. The lord therefore had no wardhip, if at the death of the ancetor the heir-male was of the full age of twenty one, or the heir-female of fourteen: yet, if he was then under fourteen, and the lord once had her in ward, he might keep her o till ixteen, by virtue of the tatute of Wetm. 1. 3 Edw. I. c. 22. the two additional years being given by the legilature for no other reaon but merely to benefit the lord.

wardhip, o far as it related to land, though it was not nor could be part of the law of feuds, o long as they were arbitrary, temporary, or for life only; yet, when they became hereditary, and did conequently often decend upon infants, who by reaon of their age could neither perform nor tipulate for the ervices of the feud, does not eem upon feodal principles to have been unreaonable. For the wardhip of the land, or cutody of the feud, was retained by the lord, that he might out of the profits thereof provide a fit peron to upply the infant's ervices, Rh