A fine of lands, also called a final concord, or simply a fine, was a species of property conveyance which existed in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

(and later in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

) from at least the 12th century until its abolition in 1833 by the Fines and Recoveries Act.

Form

The conveyance took the form of the record of a fictitious lawsuit, compromised or terminated by the acknowledgment of the existing owner (known as the ''deforciant'', ''impedient'' or ''tenant'', depending on the original writ used to levy the fine) that the land in question was the rightful property of the claimant (the ''plaintiff'', ''querent'' or ''demandant''). In reality, the deforciant had already agreed to sell the land, and the plaintiff to buy it. The suit was a collusive action to ensure the "levying of a fine" between the two parties. Typically the plaintiff(s) would bring a writ of covenant alleging: :1. He/she/they and the deforciant had entered into a

covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

to transfer some real property :2. The deforciant had not held up his end of the bargain. In all actions like this, before the court could render judgment, and typically on the same day the writ was returned, the parties would seek leave of the court to compromise, and then do so on terms where the deforciant admitted the new ownership. A fine was said to be "levied". The court provided each party with a copy ''

chirograph A chirograph is a medieval document, which has been written in duplicate, triplicate or very occasionally quadruplicate (four copies) on a single piece of parchment, with the Latin word ''chirographum'' (occasionally replaced by some other term) ...

'' of the agreement, which became the purchaser's deed of title to the land. From about 1195, it became standard practice for a third copy, known as a " foot of fine", to be retained in the court records. The standard opening formula of the document ran "''Hec est finalis concordia ...''" in Latin (before 1733); then "This is the final agreement ..." (from 1733 onwards).

Purpose

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the advantage of obtaining title to property through a fine (as opposed to, for example, a simple

feoffment In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...

or deed of gift) was that it provided the transaction with the additional legal authority of a royal or court judgment and ensured that a record of the conveyance would be preserved among the court

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

s. In the post-medieval period, the fine continued to serve a useful and necessary purpose, as it allowed an

entail In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust established by deed or settlement which restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents the property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise alien ...

to be barred (ended), or allowed a widow to bar (disclaim) her right to

dower Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride (being gifted into trust) by agreement at the time of the wedding, or as provided by law. ...

. In other circumstances, a Common Recovery was used for the same purpose. The true intention of the fine was often explained in a separate

document A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" o ...

, known as a Deed to lead (or to declare) the uses of a fine if it was executed beforehand (or afterwards) respectively.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

United Kingdom National Archives Research Guide to Feet of fines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fine Of Lands Legal history of England English property law Legal fictions