Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/92

 80 to peak; and this, both in the nature of it's ervice, and the fruits and conequences appertaining thereto, was always by much the mot free and independent pecies of any. And therefore I cannot but aent to Mr Somner's etymology of the word ; who derives it from the Saxon appellation, oc, which ignifies liberty or privilege, and, being joined to a uual termination, is called ocage, in Latin ocagium; ignifying thereby a free or privileged tenure. This etymology eems to be much more jut than that of our common lawyers in general, who derive it from oca, an old Latin word denoting (as they tell us) a plough: for that in antient time this ocage tenure conited in nothing ele but ervices of hubandry, which the tenant was bound to do to his lord, as to plough, ow, or reap for him; but that, in proces of time, this ervice was changed into an annual rent by conent of all parties, and that, in memory of it's original, it till retains the name of ocage or plough-ervice. But this by no means agrees with what Littleton himelf tells us, that to hold by fealty only, without paying any rent, is tenure in ocage; for here is plainly no commutation for plough-ervice. Beides, even ervices, confeedly of a military nature and original, (as ecuage itelf, which while it remained uncertain was equivalent to knight-ervice) the intant they were reduced to a certainty changed both their name and nature, and were called ocage. It was the certainty therefore that denominated it a ocage tenure; and nothing ure could be a greater liberty or privilege, than to have the ervice acertained, and not left to the arbitrary calls of the lord, as in the tenures of chivalry. Wherefore alo Britton, who decribes ocage tenure under the name of fraunke ferme, tells us, that they are "lands and tenements, whereof the nature of the fee is changed by feoffment out of chivalry for certain yearly ervices, and in repect whereof neither homage, ward, marriage, nor relief can be demanded." Which leads us alo to another obervation, Rh