De donis conditionalibus facts for kids
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Citation | 13 Edw. 1. c. 1 |
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Quick facts for kids
Status: Current legislation
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| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
De donis conditionalibus was an important law from 1285 in England. It was part of a bigger set of rules called the Statutes of Westminster. This law created something called "entail" (say: en-TALE). Entail meant that land given to someone could only be passed down to their children or specific heirs. It stopped people from selling land that was meant to stay in their family forever.
Contents
Why Was This Law Needed?
Before De donis conditionalibus, there was a way to give land "to a person and the heirs of their body." This was meant to keep the land in the family. But there was a problem!
If the person who received the land had a child, they could then sell the land. This meant the child might not inherit it. It also meant the land might not go back to the original owner if the family line ended. This wasn't what the original owner wanted. So, the new law was made to fix this.
What Did the Law Say?
In 1285, the De donis conditionalibus law was passed. It said that when land was given with specific instructions, those instructions had to be followed. The person who received the land could not sell it or give it away in any other way.
After the person died, the land had to go to their heirs. If they had no heirs, the land would go back to the person who originally gave it. This new rule made sure the land stayed in the family line, just as the original owner intended.
Because of this law, land given in this special way became known as an estate tail or fee tail. The word "tail" comes from the French word tailler, which means "to cut." This is because the law "cut" or limited how the land could be inherited.
Good and Bad Things About the Law
Some people thought this law caused many problems. For example, children might become disobedient because they knew they couldn't be disinherited. Farmers who rented land might lose their leases unfairly. People who were owed money might not get paid if the land was tied up by this law. It also made it harder to track who truly owned land.
However, others argued that the law had good points. By making sure land usually went to the eldest son, younger children had to find other jobs. This meant more people joined professions like the church, the army, or law. It helped prevent a small group of wealthy landowners from becoming too powerful and separate from everyone else.
How the Law Changed Over Time
Even though De donis conditionalibus was a strong law, people found ways around it. In 1472, judges found a way to let people sell or change their "entailed" land. They used a trick called a "fictitious suit" or "recovery." This was a fake lawsuit that allowed the land to be freed from the entail.
Later, in 1833, a new law called the Fines and Recoveries Act 1833 officially changed how entails worked. It made it easier and more straightforward to break an entail without needing a fake lawsuit.
See also
- Quia Emptores
- History of English land law
