Bracton: Thorne Edition: English. Volume 3, Page 25

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Volume 3, Page 25

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[001] sustains the wrongful force of the disseisor, he falls into the assise. And so when one
[002] comes to eject a rightful possessor by force and the possessor in possession vigorously
[003] defends himself, and the sheriff sustains the wrongful force of the invader, he likewise
[004] falls into the assise. But conversely, if the sheriff defends the rightful possessor
[005] in his possession, or if, when the rightful possessor has been ejected and at once attempts
[006] to regain his possession, the sheriff, when asked and as long as it is permissible,
[007] sustains such force, since it is rightful he will be permitted to do so, that is, as long
[008] as the rightful possessor has civil possession, until it is lost by negligence, weakness
[009] or despair.¹ Then the sheriff may no longer interfere, even though asked, lest he fall
[010] into the assise. He may do all this either as friend or as sheriff by virtue of his office,
[011] for the peace of the lord king. And finally note that such re-expulsion is to be done at
[012] once, [and] must be continuous, not separated by an interval of time. If one has been
[013] wrongfully disseised, having gathered his strength he ought to re-eject the disseisor
[014] at once, if he can; if he cannot, he must not withdraw but continue the attack, because
[015] he who once retreats through weakness loses both possessions, because after a time
[016] he cannot return and eject, nor regain by his own efforts the seisin he has thus lost,
[017] since cognisance has already fallen into the hand of a superior. He must therefore,
[018] of necessity, have recourse to a superior, as will appear below. These remarks on immediate
[019] expulsion may suffice for the present by way of example.

That recourse must of necessity be had to a superior where the disseisee cannot at once and by his own efforts re-eject his disseisor; let him then be given the writ of novel disseisin.

[021] We have explained above how a disseisee may re-eject his disseisor at once, safely
[022] and without writ, as long as he retains civil possession. Now we must explain how
[023] recourse is had to the help of a superior when he has lost both possessions, natural and
[024] civil. When a disseisee has been so negligent in this regard that he cannot or will not
[025] re-eject his disseisor, by favour² of the prince he is aided by the recognition of the
[026] assise of novel disseisin, excogitated and contrived after many night watches,³ for
[027] recovering the possession the disseisee lost wrongfully and without judgment, so that
[028] by a summary recognition, without any great legal formality, by a short cut, so to
[029] speak, the matter may be determined. This assise lies not only for corporeal things,
[030] as for tenements of every kind, but also for incorporeal, as servitudes and rights
[031] appurtenant to tenements, as for a right of pasturing, reaping, digging and the like,
[032] as will appear below. This recognition

Notes

1. Supra 23

2. Glanvill, xiii, 32: ‘dissaisito huius constitutioni beneficio subvenitur’

3. C. 3.28.35.pr.: ‘multis vigiliis excogitatam atque inventam’; Drogheda, 110