Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/80

 68 till he hould be of age to perform them himelf. And, if we conider a feud in it's original import, as a tipend, fee, or reward for actual ervice, it could not be thought hard that the lord hould withhold the tipend, o long as the ervice was upended. Though undoubtedly to our Englih ancetors, where uch tipendiary donation was a mere uppoition or figment, it carried abundance of hardhip; and accordingly it was relieved by the charter of Henry I before-mentioned, which took this cutody from the lord, and ordained that the cutody, both of the land and the children, hould belong to the widow or next of kin. But this noble immunity did not continue many years.

wardhip of the body was a conequence of the wardhip of the land; for he who enjoyed the infant's etate was the properet peron to educate and maintain him in his infancy: and alo, in a political view, the lord was mot concerned to give his tenant a uitable education, in order to qualify him the better to perform thoe ervices which in his maturity he was bound to render.

the male heir arrived to the age of twenty one, or the heir-female to that of ixteen, they might ue out their livery or outerlemain ; that is, the delivery of their lands out of their guardian's hands. For this they were obliged to pay a fine, namely, half a year's profits of the land; though this eems exprely contrary to magna carta. However, in conideration of their lands having been o long in ward, they were excued all reliefs, and the king's tenants alo all primer eiins. In order to acertain the profits that aroe to the crown by thee fruits of tenure, and to grant the heir his livery, the itinerant jutices, or jutices in eyre, had it formerly in charge to make inquiition concerning them by a jury of the county, commonly called an inquiitio pot mortem; which was intituted to enquire (at the death of any man of fortune) the value of his etate, the tenure Rh