Bracton: Thorne Edition: English. Volume 3, Page 256

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Volume 3, Page 256

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Another writ of another kind.

[002] ‘The king to the sheriff, greeting. Know that A. the daughter of N. in our court
[003] before our justices by the judgment of our same court recovered against B. her seisin
[004] of so much land with the appurtenances in such a vill of which the aforesaid N.
[005] father of the same A. died seised as of fee. Therefore we order you to cause C., that is,
[006] such a one, the guardian of A. as the nearer relative on her mother's side,¹ to have
[007] full seisin of the aforesaid land without delay, since A. herself is within age. And do
[008] not allow D. the chief lord of that fee to have the wardship of that land or of the
[009] heir since in our court he was abjudicated of that wardship because the land ought to
[010] be held in socage.’ A writ for seisin may be drawn in the same form where the chief
[011] lord is dispossessed because he committed waste and destruction, which may be
[012] done by an assise of mortdancestor. Let it then be said at the end of the writ, ‘[since]
[013] he was dispossessed of the same wardship because of the waste and destruction he
[014] committed in the same land. Witness etc.’ And note that in no assise, except the
[015] grand assise by writ of right, does anyone recover seisin by default, for in all the other
[016] assises no other penalty follows after default, after resummons and essoin, than that
[017] the assise is taken by default.² If one complains after the assise has been taken
[018] that he cannot have his seisin as he recovered it, let a writ be directed to the sheriff in
[019] this form.

A writ where the demandant complains that he cannot have his seisin as he recovered it.

[021] ‘The king to the sheriff, greeting. Know that our justices who last itinerated in your
[022] county record that A. recovered his seisin of so much land etc. against B. before our
[023] same justices at N. by an assise of mortdancestor there taken between them, as to
[024] which the same A. complains that the same B. still deforces him of that land (or
[025] thus, ‘that he cannot have his seisin thereof as he recovered it’ or ‘not in peace’).
[026] We therefore order you without delay to cause the same A. to have his full seisin
[027] of the aforesaid land as he recovered it and to maintain and defend him in his seisin.
[028] Lest we hear further complaint [etc.]. Witness etc.’³ There is another form, where the
[029] tenant acknowledged the land to be the demandant's without the taking of an assise.

The writ for giving seisin where the tenant freely acknowledged.

[031] ‘Know that when an assise of mortdancestor was summoned in our court before etc.
[032] between A. the demandant and B. the tenant concerning so much land with

Notes

1. Supra ii, 254

2. Infra 267

3. Supra 203