Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/93

 Ch. 6. that, if ocage tenures were of uch bae and ervile original, it is hard to account for the very great immunities which the tenants of them always enjoyed; o highly uperior to thoe of the tenants by chivalry, that it was thought, in the reigns of both Edward I and Charles II, a point of the utmot importance and value to the tenants, to reduce the tenure by knight-ervice to fraunke ferme or tenure by ocage. We may therefore, I think, fairly conclude in favour of Somner's etymology, and the liberal extraction of the tenure in free ocage, againt the authority even of Littleton himelf.

this then to be the meaning of the word, it eems probable that the ocage tenures were the relics of Saxon liberty, retained by uch perons, as had neither forfeited them to the king, nor been obliged to exchange their tenure for the more honourable, as it was called, but at the ame time more burthenome, tenure of knight-ervice. This is peculiarly remarkable in the tenure which prevails in Kent, called gavelkind, which is generally acknowleged to be a pecies of ocage tenure ; the preervation whereof inviolate from the innovations of the Norman conqueror is a fact univerally known. And thoe who thus preerved their liberties were aid to hold in free and common ocage.

therefore the grand criterion and ditinguihing mark of this pecies of tenure are the having it's renders or ervices acertained, it will include under it all other methods of holding free lands by certain and invariable rents and duties: and, in particular, petit erjeanty, tenure in burgage, and gavelkind.

may remember, that by the tatute 12 Car. II. grand erjeanty is not itelf totally abolihed, but only the lavih appendages belonging to it; for the honorary ervices (uch as carrying the king's word or banner, officiating as his butler, carver, &c, at the coronation) are till reerved. Now petit erjeanty bears a great reemblance to grand erjeanty; for as the one is a peronal .