Seisin

Seisin

Seisin is the possession of such an estate in land as was anciently thought worthy to be held by a free man. (Williams, "On Seisin", p. 2)

Etymology

Seisin comes from Middle English "saysen", "seysen", in the legal sense of to put in possession of, or to take possession of, hence, to grasp, to seize. The Old French variations "seisir", "saisir", are from Low Latin "sacire", generally referred to the same source as Gothic "satjan", Old English "settan", to put in place, set.

Country

England

Seisin is of two kinds, in law and in deed. Seisin in law is where lands descend and the heir has not actually entered upon them; by entry he converts his seisin in law into seisin in deed. Seisin is now confined to possession of the freehold, though at one time it appears to have been used for simple possession without regard to the estate of the possessor. Its importance is considerably less than it was at one time, owing to the old form of conveyance by feoffment with livery of seisin having been superseded by a deed of grant, and the old rule of descent from the person last seised having been abolished in favor of descent from the purchaser.

At one time the right of the wife to dower and of the husband to an estate by curtesy depended upon the doctrine of seisin. The Dower Act (1833-1834), however, rendered the fact of the seisin of the husband of no importance, and the Married Women's Property Act 1882 practically abolished the old law of curtesy.

Primer seisin was a feudal burden at one time incident to the king's tenants in capite, whether by knight service or in socage. It was the right of the Crown to receive of the heir, after the death of a tenant in Capite, one year's profits of lands in possession and half a years profits of lands in reversion. The right was abandoned by the act abolishing feudal tenures (12 Car. II. c. 24, 1660).

Ireland

Following the Norman Invasion of Ireland, feudalism was introduced in those areas under Norman Control.The most important legal concept in the feudal period in relation to land was seisin [Andrew Lyall,"Land Law in Ireland" ISBN 1 85800 199 4]

In European feudalism

In European feudal courts, ownership of land was rarely an operative principle. Instead seisin was referred to, the term seisin meant "possession made venerable by the lapse of time". Paper documentary evidence was not required to establish seisin, rather human memory of the use of land or administration of justice there was invoked, especially these by the ancestors. [Marc Bloch, Feudal Societychap. VIII.2- characteristics of customary law.]

See also

* Livery of seisin
* Moot hill Sasine ceremony of barony rights.
* Quia Emptores

References

*1911


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • seisin — sei·sin or sei·zin / sēz ən/ n [Anglo French seisine, from Old French saisine act of taking possession, from saisir to seize, of Germanic origin] 1: the possession of land or chattels: as a: the possession of land arising from livery of seisin… …   Law dictionary

  • Seisin — Sei sin, n. See {Seizin}. Spenser. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • seisin — [sē′zin] n. alt. sp. of SEIZIN …   English World dictionary

  • seisin — /siyzan/ Possession of real property under claim of freehold estate. The completion of the feudal investiture, by which the tenant was admitted into the feud, and performed the rights of homage and fealty. Possession with an intent on the part of …   Black's law dictionary

  • seisin — /see zin/, n. Law. seizin. * * * ▪ feudal law       in English feudal society, a term that came to mean a type of possession that gained credibility with the passage of time. Seisin was not ownership nor was it mere possession that could be… …   Universalium

  • Seisin — 1) Legal possession of a property. (Gies, Frances and Joseph. Life in a Medieval Village, 245) 2) Possession (often contrasted with ownership) of land. (Sayles, George O. The King s Parliament of England, 145) 3) The possession of land enjoyed by …   Medieval glossary

  • seisin — The possession of a freehold estate by the owner. 42 Am J1st Prop § 45. The possession of land coupled with the right to possess it and a freehold estate therein, practically the same thing as ownership. Holt v Ruleau, 83 Vt 151, 74 A 1005. For… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • seisin in law — The right to immediate possession of land under a freehold title. The right to make immediate seisin, which, existing in a husband during coverture, is a subject to which common law dower or its statutory equivalent attaches. 25 Am J2d Dow § 26.… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • seisin in deed — A seisin in fact. An actual corporeal seisin which, existing in the husband, is a subject to which common law dower or its statutory equivalent attaches. 25 Am J2d Dow § 26 …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • seisin by hasp and staple — The investiture of a person of seisin by the feoffee s taking hold of the hasp of the door of the house and then bolting himself in …   Ballentine's law dictionary

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