free socage

noun

1. Medieval History.,  land held by a tenant who rendered certain honorable and nonservile duties to his lord.

Example Sentences

There can be no doubt also that the more ancient surveys disclose a difference in point of quantity between free and servile holdings, and this again is a strong argument for the belief that free socage must not be considered merely as an emancipated servile tenancy.

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As a classification of tenures the passage would not be complete, of course, since neither the important species of free socage recognised by Domesday nor the ancient demesne tenure appears.

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Long before this—even in the thirteenth century—'free socage' was the name of a freehold tenure fully protected by the King's Courts.

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In the law books of the time the free but non-military tenure has to be characterised not merely as socage, but as free socage: this fact will give us a second clue in analysing the condition.

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Free socage is often mentioned in these manors, and it is frequently pleaded in order to get a trial transferred to the Common Law Courts.

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