Frankalmoin
Encyclopedia
Frankalmoin or frankalmoigne was one of the feudal land tenure
s in feudal England
. Its literal meaning is "free pity/mercy", from Norman French fraunch aumoyne, “free alms
”, from Late Latin
eleemosyna, from Greek ἐλεημοσύνη ("eleēmosynē"), "pity, alms", from ἐλεήμων ("eleēmōn") "merciful", from ἔλεος ("eleos"), "pity". By it an ecclesiastical body held land free of military service such as knight service or other secular or religious service, but sometimes in return for the religious service of saying prayers and masses for the soul of the grantor. Not only was secular service not due but in the 12th and 13th centuries jurisdiction over land so held belonged to the ecclesiastical courts, and was thus immune from royal jurisdiction.
In English law
, frankalmoign(e) was also known as "tenure in free alms". Gifts to religious institutions in free alms were defined first as gifts to God, then to the patron saint
of the religious house, and finally to those religious serving God in the specific house.
The following example is from a charter of William de Vernon, 5th Earl of Devon
(d.1217), to Quarr Abbey
:
In English:
As the above example makes clear it was a freehold tenure as it was held in perpetual possession, which is equivalent to "hereditable" in secular terms. Religious houses in receipt of free alms could not recognise a secular lord. The gift of land or other property made over to God and to a patron Saint was inalienable, and the relationship between the grantor and the religious house was subsidiary.
In the 12th century the institution came to be misused. Land could be donated to a church organization and then leased back to the donor, allowing the donor to avoid the feudal services due to his lord. Legal cases became so complicated that the Assize of Utrum was established in the middle of the 12th century to adjudicate claims.
Thomas de Littleton's Tenures, which perhaps appeared about 1470 as an update of a then century-old predecessor tract (the Old tenures) said to have been written under Edward III
, contains a section on Frankalmoin.
Edward Coke
commented on this in the first part of his Institutes of the Lawes of England
, published within his Commentary upon Littleton, which he completed about a century and a half after its subject's first appearance. Coke provided cases and noted how practice related to Littleton's work had changed during that time.
Frankalmoin was the tenure by which the greater number of the monasteries and religious houses held their lands; it was expressly exempted from the Tenures Abolition Act 1660
, by which the other ancient tenures were abolished, and it was the tenure by which the parochial clergy and many ecclesiastical and eleemosynary foundations held their lands through the 19th century.
As a form of donation, Frankalmoin fell into disuse because on any alienation of the land the tenure was converted into socage
. No fresh grants in frankalmoin, save by the Crown, were possible after Quia Emptores
in 1290. In 1925 the tenure was converted into common socage.
Feudal land tenure
Under the English feudal system several different forms of land tenure existed, each effectively a contract with differing rights and duties attached thereto. Such tenures could be either free-hold, signifying that they were hereditable or perpetual, or non-free where the tenancy terminated on the...
s in feudal England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
. Its literal meaning is "free pity/mercy", from Norman French fraunch aumoyne, “free alms
Alms
Alms or almsgiving is a religious rite which, in general, involves giving materially to another as an act of religious virtue.It exists in a number of religions. In Philippine Regions, alms are given as charity to benefit the poor. In Buddhism, alms are given by lay people to monks and nuns to...
”, from Late Latin
Late Latin
Late Latin is the scholarly name for the written Latin of Late Antiquity. The English dictionary definition of Late Latin dates this period from the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD extending in Spain to the 7th. This somewhat ambiguously defined period fits between Classical Latin and Medieval Latin...
eleemosyna, from Greek ἐλεημοσύνη ("eleēmosynē"), "pity, alms", from ἐλεήμων ("eleēmōn") "merciful", from ἔλεος ("eleos"), "pity". By it an ecclesiastical body held land free of military service such as knight service or other secular or religious service, but sometimes in return for the religious service of saying prayers and masses for the soul of the grantor. Not only was secular service not due but in the 12th and 13th centuries jurisdiction over land so held belonged to the ecclesiastical courts, and was thus immune from royal jurisdiction.
In English law
English law
English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States except Louisiana...
, frankalmoign(e) was also known as "tenure in free alms". Gifts to religious institutions in free alms were defined first as gifts to God, then to the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of the religious house, and finally to those religious serving God in the specific house.
The following example is from a charter of William de Vernon, 5th Earl of Devon
William de Redvers, 5th Earl of Devon
William de Reviers, 5th Earl of Devon was the son of Baldwin de Redvers, 1st Earl of Devon and Adelise Baluun. William de Redvers is also William de Vernon, because he was brought up at Vernon Castle, in Normandy, the seat of his grandfather.He took part in Richard the Lion-Hearted's second...
(d.1217), to Quarr Abbey
Quarr Abbey
Quarr Abbey is a monastery between the villages of Binstead and Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight in southern England. The name is pronounced as "Kor" . It belongs to the Order of St Benedict. The present imposing brick construction was completed in 1912. A community of about a dozen monks maintains...
:
Hanc donationem praedictis monachis in puram et perpetuam eleemosinam liberam ab omni servitio in perpetuum possidendam confirmavi
In English:
"I have confirmed this donation to the foresaid monks in pure and perpetual mercy (i.e. "alms") free from all service in perpetual possession"
As the above example makes clear it was a freehold tenure as it was held in perpetual possession, which is equivalent to "hereditable" in secular terms. Religious houses in receipt of free alms could not recognise a secular lord. The gift of land or other property made over to God and to a patron Saint was inalienable, and the relationship between the grantor and the religious house was subsidiary.
In the 12th century the institution came to be misused. Land could be donated to a church organization and then leased back to the donor, allowing the donor to avoid the feudal services due to his lord. Legal cases became so complicated that the Assize of Utrum was established in the middle of the 12th century to adjudicate claims.
Thomas de Littleton's Tenures, which perhaps appeared about 1470 as an update of a then century-old predecessor tract (the Old tenures) said to have been written under Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
, contains a section on Frankalmoin.
"And they which hold in frank-almoign are bound of right before God to make orisons, prayers, masses, and other divine services, for the souls of their grantor or feoffor, and for the souls of their ancestors which are dead, and for the prosperity and good life and good health of their heirs, which are alive. And therefore they shall do no fealty to their lord ... because, that this divine service is better for them before God, than any doing of fealty; and also because that these words (frank- almoign) exclude the lord to have any earthly or temporal service, hut to have only divine and spiritual service to be done for him..."
Edward Coke
Edward Coke
Sir Edward Coke SL PC was an English barrister, judge and politician considered to be the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Born into a middle class family, Coke was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge before leaving to study at the Inner Temple, where he was called to the...
commented on this in the first part of his Institutes of the Lawes of England
Institutes of the Lawes of England
The Institutes of the Lawes of England are a series of legal treatises written by Sir Edward Coke. They were first published, in stages, between 1628 and 1644. They are widely recognized as a foundational document of the common law. They have been cited in over 70 cases decided by the Supreme Court...
, published within his Commentary upon Littleton, which he completed about a century and a half after its subject's first appearance. Coke provided cases and noted how practice related to Littleton's work had changed during that time.
Frankalmoin was the tenure by which the greater number of the monasteries and religious houses held their lands; it was expressly exempted from the Tenures Abolition Act 1660
Tenures Abolition Act 1660
The Tenures Abolition Act 1660 was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of England passed in 1660. The long title of the Act was An act for taking away the Court of Wards and liveries, and tenures in capite, and by knights-service, and purveyance, and for settling a revenue upon his Majesty in...
, by which the other ancient tenures were abolished, and it was the tenure by which the parochial clergy and many ecclesiastical and eleemosynary foundations held their lands through the 19th century.
As a form of donation, Frankalmoin fell into disuse because on any alienation of the land the tenure was converted into socage
Socage
Socage was one of the feudal duties and hence land tenure forms in the feudal system. A farmer, for example, held the land in exchange for a clearly defined, fixed payment to be made at specified intervals to his feudal lord, who in turn had his own feudal obligations, to the farmer and to the Crown...
. No fresh grants in frankalmoin, save by the Crown, were possible after Quia Emptores
Quia Emptores
Quia Emptores of 1290 was a statute passed by Edward I of England that prevented tenants from alienating their lands to others by subinfeudation, instead requiring all tenants wishing to alienate their land to do so by substitution...
in 1290. In 1925 the tenure was converted into common socage.
See also
- History of English land lawHistory of English land lawThe history of English land law derives from a mixture of Roman, Norman and modern legislative sources.Such terms as "fee" or "homage" carry us back into feudal times. Rights of common and distress are based upon still older institutions, forming the very basis of primitive law...
- Frank-marriageFrank-marriageFrank-marriage , in real property law, a species of estate tail, now obsolete.When a man was seized of land in fee simple, and gave it to a daughter on marriage, the daughter and her husband were termed the donees in frank-marriage, because they held the land granted to them and the heirs of their...
- Quia EmptoresQuia EmptoresQuia Emptores of 1290 was a statute passed by Edward I of England that prevented tenants from alienating their lands to others by subinfeudation, instead requiring all tenants wishing to alienate their land to do so by substitution...
- Henry de BractonHenry de BractonHenry of Bracton, also Henry de Bracton, also Henrici Bracton, or Henry Bratton also Henry Bretton was an English jurist....