Medieval English Conveyances

This study of the documents used in medieval England for the creation and transfer of interests in real property is the first book devoted exclusively to the subject since the publication of Thomas Madox's Formulare Anglicanum in 1702. The transactions covered include grants in fee and in perpetual alms, leases for life and for years, exchanges, surrenders and releases. Analysis of each kind of transaction is partly by way of commentary on the formulae of deeds, selected from the many thousands found in published cartularies and collections, and partly by relating the deeds to the relevant law of their periods, as found in early treatises, decided cases and the Year Books. The aim is to enable readers to identify and categorise deeds accurately, to appreciate their legal effects and to note instances where the practice of conveyancers and their clients differed from what is supposed to have been the law.

• Each type of transaction is illustrated by examples taken from original deeds, chosen to illustrate the variations of formula which can be found
• The analysis of the deeds involves consideration of a large amount of Year Book learning, very little of which can be found in any modern treatise on land law or on the history of land law
• A glossary of legal terms helps readers understand the language in which legal documents, including deeds, were discussed by the courts and by legal writers