Socage () was one of the

feudal duties Feudal duties were the set of reciprocal financial, military and legal obligations among the warrior nobility in a feudal system. Translated into English by Philip Grierson as ''Feudalism'', 1st ed., London, 1952. These duties developed in both ...

and land tenure forms in the

English feudal system Feudalism as practiced in the Kingdom of England, Kingdoms of England during the medieval period was a state of human society that organized political and military leadership and force around a stratified formal structure based on Feudal land tenur ...

. It eventually evolved into the freehold tenure called "free and common socage", which did not involve feudal duties. Farmers held land in exchange for clearly defined, fixed payments made at specified intervals to feudal lords. The lord was therefore obligated to provide certain services, such as protection, to the

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

and other duties to the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

. Payments usually took the form of cash, but occasionally could be made with goods. Socage contrasted with other forms of tenure, including

serjeanty Under feudalism in France and England during the Middle Ages, tenure by serjeanty () was a form of tenure in return for a specified duty other than standard knight-service. Etymology The word comes from the French noun , itself from the Latin ...

frankalmoin Frank almoin, frankalmoign or frankalmoigne () was one of the feudal land tenures in feudal England. Its literal meaning is 'free pity/mercy', from Norman French , 'free alms', from Late Latin , from Greek (), 'pity, alms', from () 'merciful' ...

and

knight-service Knight-service was a form of feudal land tenure under which a knight held a fief or estate of land termed a knight's fee (''fee'' being synonymous with ''fief'') from an overlord conditional on him as tenant performing military service for his ...

. The

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

statute ''

Quia Emptores ''Quia Emptores'' is a statute passed by the Parliament of England in 1290 during the reign of Edward I that prevented tenants from alienating their lands to others by subinfeudation, instead requiring all tenants who wished to alienate the ...

'' of Edward I (1290) established that socage tenure passed from one generation or nominee to the next would be subject to

inquisitions post mortem An Inquisition post mortem (abbreviated to Inq.p.m. or i.p.m., and formerly known as an escheat) (Latin, meaning "(inquisition) after death") is an English medieval or early modern record of the death, estate and heir of one of the king's tenants-i ...

, which would usually involve a

feudal relief Feudal relief was a one-off "fine" or form of taxation payable to an overlord by the heir of a feudal tenant to license him to take possession of his fief, i.e. an estate-in-land, by inheritance. It is comparable to a death duty or inheritance ta ...

tax. This contrasts with the treatment of

leases A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

, which could be lifelong or readily subject to

forfeiture Forfeit or forfeiture may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Forfeit'', a 2007 thriller film starring Billy Burke * "Forfeit", a song by Chevelle from '' Wonder What's Next'' * '' Forfeit/Fortune'', a 2008 album by Crooked Fingers ...

and rent increase. As feudalism declined, the prevalence of socage tenure increased until it became the normal form of tenure in the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. On ...

. In 1660, the

Statute of Tenures The Tenures Abolition Act 1660 (12 Car 2 c 24), sometimes known as the Statute of Tenures, was an Act of the Parliament of England which changed the nature of several types of feudal land tenure in England. The long title of the Act was ''An act ...

ended the practice of estates requiring owners to provide military or religious service, and most

freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple *Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice p ...

tenures and other were converted into "free and common socage". The holder of a ''soc'' or socage tenure was referred to as a ''socager'' (Anglo-Norman) or S''ocman'' (Anglo-Saxon, also spelt ''sochman'', from the legal concept of a soke, from the verb 'to seek'). In German-speaking Europe, the broad equivalent was a ''

Dienstmann A ''Dienstmann'' (plural: ''Dienstleute'' or, in Austria, ''Dienstmänner'') was a medieval retainer or vassal and, later, a hired man, in German-speaking countries, particularly in Austria until the first half of the 20th century. Usage The ...

''. The etymology of ''socage'' according to

William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, judge and Tory (British political party), Tory politician of the eighteenth century. He is most noted for writing the ''Commentaries on the Laws of England''. Bo ...

is the old Latin word for a plough.

References

External links

*{{Cite EB1911 , last=Vinogradoff , first=Paul , authorlink=Paul Vinogradoff , wstitle=Socage , short=x Soccage in Lower Canada
An act to explain and amend the laws relating to lands holden in free and common soccage in the province of Lower Canada
Feudal duties Legal history of England Medieval English law Land tenure Feudalism

See also

References

External links