FEU

This article appears in Volume V10, Page 296 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: FAT-FLA

FEU , in

Scotland

, the commonest mode of land

tenure

TENURE (Fr. tenure, from Lat. tenere, to hold)

. The word is the Scots variant of "fee" (q.v.). The relics of the feudal system still dominate Scots conveyancing. That system has recognized as many as seven forms of tenureward, socage, mortification, feu, blench, burgage, booking. Ward, the

original

ORIGINAL

military holding, was abolished in 1747 (20 G. II. c. 20), as an effect of the rising of 1745. Socage and mortification have long since disappeared. Booking is a conveyance peculiar to the borough of Paisley, but does not differ essentially from feu. Burgage is the system by which land is held in royal boroughs. Blench holding is by a nominal payment, as of a

penny

Scots, or a red rose, often only to be rendered upon demand. In feu holding there is a substantial annual payment in money or in kind in return for the enjoyment of the land. The crown is the first overlord or superior, and land is held of it by crown vassals, but they in their turn may " feu " their land, as it is called, to others who become their vassals, whilst they themselves are mediate overlords or superiors; and this process of sub-infeudation may be repeated to an indefinite extent. The Conveyancing Act of 1874 renders any clause in a disposition against subinfeudation null and void. In England on the other hand, since1290, when the

statute

STATUTE

Quia Emptores was passed, sub-infeuda-Lion is impossible, as the new holder simply effaces the grantor, holding by the same title as the grantor himself. Casualties, which are a feature of land held in feu, are certain payments made to the superior, contingent on the happening of certain events. The most important was the payment of an amount equal to one year's feu-duty by a new holder, whether

heir

HEIR (Lat. heres, from a root meaning to grasp, seen in heres or erus, master of a
house
- HOUSE
- HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
  Gothic
  - GOTHIC
  it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)
, Gr. xeip, hand, Sans. hat ana, hand)

or purchaser of the feu. The Conveyancing Act of 1874 abolished casualties in all feus after that date, and power was given to redeem this burden on feus already existing. If the vassal does not pay the feu-duty' for two years, the superior, among other remedies, may obtain by legal process a decree of irritancy, whereupon tinsel or forfeiture of the feu follows. Previously to 1832 only the vassals of the crown had votes in parliamentary elections for the Scots counties, and this made in favour of subinfeudation as against sale outright. In Orkney and

Shetland

SHETLAND, or ZETLAND

land is still largely possessed as udal property, a holding derived or handed down from the time when these islands belonged to Norway. Such lands may be converted into feus at the will of the proprietor and held from the crown or Lord Dundas. At one time the system of conveyancing by which the transfer of feus was effected was curious and complicated, requiring the presence of parties on the land itself and the symbolical handing over of the property, together with the registration of various documents. But legislation since the middle of the 19th century has changed all that. The system of feuing in

Scotland

, as contrasted with that of long leaseholds in England, has tended to secure greater solidity and firmness in the

average

AVERAGE

buildings of the northern country.
See Erskine's Principles; Bell's Principles; Rankine, Law of Landownership in Scotland.

End of Article: FEU

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/FAT_FLA/FEU.html">
FEU
</a>

(Previous)
FETTERS AND HANDCUFFS

(Next)
FEUCHERES, SOPHIE, BARONNE DE (1795-1840)

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email