Bracton: Thorne Edition: English. Volume 3, Page 22

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Volume 3, Page 22

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[001] the other, by using another's property wrongfully, acquires nothing by such wrongful
[002] use.]¹ If he cannot expel him by any means, recourse must be had to the aid of a
[003] superior. If one prevents another from using his property, or from using it conveniently,
[004] let him be repelled immediately, if that can be done, otherwise let recourse be
[005] had to a superior, that he be permitted to use peacefully and quietly,² as above. We
[006] must thus see what is meant by ‘immediately,’ within what period of time. ³<Force
[007] may at once be repelled by force,⁴ that is, as soon as it can be known that force has
[008] been used, before he against whom it is directed turns aside to other business.>⁵ The
[009] time allowed is not [precisely] defined, but it is assumed that he ought to have as
[010] much time as he would have were he impleaded on the proprietas, ⁶<namely, fifteen
[011] days,> but that is not law at this time. [In this connexion] we must see whether the
[012] disseisee is present or absent at the time of the disseisin, and whether it is he who is
[013] expelled or his procurator or members of his household, or whether while he is absent
[014] another enters into his vacant possession: vacant, I say, corpore, though not animo.
[015] If he is present at the time of the disseisin, let him then re-eject the disseisor at once,
[016] on the same day if he can, unless, because of the hopelessness of this course, he chooses
[017] to sue; having chosen that and impetrated a writ, he cannot return to physical expulsion,
[018] nor regain his seisin on his own authority to the prejudice of the superior
[019] upon whom cognisance has now devolved.⁷ But if he does not choose that way, let
[020] him on the next day, the third or the fourth (or later with proper extension),⁸ do what
[021] ought to be done on the first, because if he could not expel him on the first day, he
[022] may nevertheless, on the next day and the next, gather his strength, collect arms,
[023] and call upon the aid of his friends; if he waits for a longer⁹ time, he will be taken to
[024] have condoned the injuria and to have extinguished it completely.¹⁰ What was said
[025] applies where the possessor is ejected, [or his] procurator or household, when he is
[026] present. Now we must explain what happens if [he is absent] and on his return is forbidden
[027] to enter, or is repelled, or believes that he may be repelled.¹¹ If he is absent for
[028] some necessary reason, business or pilgrimage or some other, we must consider the
[029] distance between the places, the times, and the diligence or negligence shown by the
[030] disseisee. [Distance]: ‘near,’ according as he is in the same county, or ‘far,’ as he is in
[031] another, or elsewhere, provided it is within the realm. ‘Far’ and ‘farther’ may be
[032] distinguished. [Time]: from the time he could know that a disseisin has been committed,
[033] not from the time he did know. Then reasonable daily distances for his journey
[034] are to be computed, and thus, reasonable delays being allowed him, let him expel the
[035] disseisor within the fourth day, ¹²<or at a later time, if there is reason for the delay,>¹³
[036] which will be sufficiently immediate, since time does not run against him except from
[037] the time of knowledge, and after that from the time at which¹⁴ he could reasonably
[038] arrive. If he is out of the realm on simple pilgrimage to St. James, or on the king's
[039] service, in Gascony, he will have a delay

Notes

1. Supra ii, 131

2. ‘ut ei . . . quiete,’ from line 3

3. Supra i, 391

4. D. 43.16.1.27; 43.16.3.9; 4.2.12.1; Kuttner, 336, 345, 346

5. Azo, Summa Cod. 8.4, no. 2: ‘incontinenti sic accipe, id est, antequam ad alia extranea divertat negocia.’; Barton in Tulane L. Rev., xlii, 574

6. Supra i, 391

7. Infra 25

8. Supra ii, 81

9. ‘longiorem’

10. Inst. 4.4.12; supra ii, 439

11. D. 41.2.25.2: ‘donec revertentes nos aliquis repellat aut nos ita animo desinamus possidere quod suspicemur repelli nos posse ab eo qui ingressus sit in possessionem’

12. Supra i, 392

13. Supra ii, 81

14. ‘et post scientiam [a tempore] ex quo’