What is copyhold?

copyhold. Hist. A base tenure requiring the tenant to provide the customary services of the manor, as reflected in the manor’s court rolls. • Copyhold tenure descended from pure villeinage; over time, the customs of the manor, as reflected on the manor’s rolls, dictated what services a lord could demand from a copyholder. This type of tenure was abolished by the Law of Property Act of 1922, which converted copyhold land into freehold or leasehold land.

— Also termed copyhold tenure; customary estate; customary freehold; tenancy by the verge; tenancy par la verge; tenancy by the rod. See base tenure under TENURE; VILLEINAGE.

“Out of the tenure by villeinage, copyhold tenure developed…. By the end of the fifteenth century, to hold by copy of the court roll, to be a ‘copyholder,’ was a definite advantage, and, in most cases the holders had for many generations been personally free. The fusing of several different types of payment had also gone on, so that there was little difference between a holder in socage who had commuted the services for a sum of money and a co-pyholder who had done the same, except the specific dues of heriot and merchet. In Coke’s time, a very large part of the land of England was still held by copyhold.” Max Radin, Handbook of Anglo-American Legal History 371 (1936).

“[L]and held on an unfree tenure could be transferred only by a surrender and admittance made in the lord’s court. The transaction was recorded on the court rolls and the transferee given a copy of the entry to prove his title; he thus held ‘by copy of the court roll,’ and the tenure became known as ‘copyhold.’ ” Robert E. Megarry & M.P. Thompson, A Manual of the Law of Real Property 22 (6th ed. 1993).

privileged copyhold. Hist. A copyhold subject only to the customs of the manor and not affected by the nonconforming dictates of the current lord.

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copyhold n. (英格兰古法)公簿保有；公簿保有地产(权)英格兰的土地保有形式之一，于1925年被取消。公簿保有源于庄园制。庄园本是分配给领主占有并作为一个经济组织的一片土地，当封建制土地保有方式于诺曼征服后被引进英格兰时，原来持有庄园的领主被接纳为国王的直属封臣，原来从他那里以自由身份保有土地的人变成了他的自由封臣，而那些虽占有土地身份却不自由的人称之为农奴，亦译作「维兰」〔villein〕。农奴以向领主提供农役为条件保有土地，但这种农役是不确定的，它服从于领主的意志，这是它与自由保有地产的最大区别。大约15世纪，劳务地租转化为货币地租，农奴保有随之变为公簿保有。公簿保有地产是根据庄园习惯法依领主意志保有的一片庄园内领主自留地。就同一块土地，保有人本来也可以自由保有方式保有，如以非限嗣继承方式、终身保有方式、限嗣继承方式等，他还可以对该地产享有一定期限的动产性权益〔chattel interest〕，而之所以选择公簿保有则有可能是庄园习惯、个人身份、双方协议等的结果。基于某些庄园的习惯，公簿保有地产还可以继承，称之为可继承公簿保有地产〔copyhold of inheritance〕。公簿地产保有人的役务属于较低贱的一等，这也是区别于自由保有的重要方面。虽这种役务受领主意志支配，但领主意志的行使也受庄园习惯的制约，这使得公簿保有人的利益也不致轻易遭到侵害。另外，自由公簿保有地产或习惯自由保有地产〔free copyhold or customary freehold〕虽亦依庄园之习惯，但总体上是独立于领主意志之外的。公簿保有地产的成立需具备4个条件：庄园及庄园法庭的存在，该地产属于庄园，从很早时候起即通过庄园法庭的卷宗副本出租。在为公簿地产保有人设立的习惯法庭〔customary court〕中，由领主或其管家出任法官，众公簿地产保有人作为助手，处理效忠及地产交易等事务。公簿保有地产的习惯分为两类，１经普通法认可适用于一切庄园的普通规则，并可由普通法法庭进行司法认知，在诉讼中无须进行特别答辩；２只适用于特定庄园的特殊习惯，在诉讼中需在答辩中特别指出，并得进行严格解释，若有悖于理性、道德或公正，或不能付诸肯定确实的规则，则将不会为法庭所承认。依据普通习惯，公簿保有人拥有以下权利和义务：１向领主效忠，但通常效忠宣誓会暂缓举行；２出席习惯法庭；３采木权，除非为庄园习惯所禁止；４不得抛荒土地，除非为庄园习惯所允许；５除非为庄园习惯所禁止，可继承公簿地产依普通法规则进行继承。原来依特定庄园习惯进行继承的公簿地产，其继承规则受到1833年《继承法》〔Inheritance Act〕的影响而有所改变；６公簿地产通过弃让〔surrender〕加接纳〔admittance〕方式实现转移；７公簿地产保有人可将其保有地出租一年，征得领主同意后则可不受此期限限制；８公簿地产可为各种债务提供担保；９公簿地产保有人的遗孀有权获得其亡夫原先保有地产的一定份额，称为寡妇公簿地产〔free-bench〕，具体份额依各地习惯不同而不同。它通常属于终身保有地产〔estate for life〕，但可因改嫁或未能从一而终〔inconsistency〕而被没收，也可因其夫亡前的转让行为或协议、领主的收回、领主恩准授予自由产或未来寡妇地产权〔jointure〕的设定而受到阻却；十与寡妇公簿产相对应，鳏夫亦有相应的地产权；B11公簿地产的继承以交纳封地易主费〔fine〕为前提，这笔费用在前述寡妇、鳏夫接手相关地产以及公簿地产进行交易时都要征收，唯一例外是发生破产，但剩余地产保有人进入时则无需交纳。按份共有人〔tenants in common〕依其份额比例支付，共同共有人则以同一名义交纳，因后者存在生存者权〔survivorship〕问题，为不损害领主权益，第一个去世人交纳土地两年的收益，第二个去世者交纳前次费用的一半，依此类推；B12普通法上的公簿地产保有人去世时要交纳死亡奉献金〔heriot〕，通常为最好的牲畜。公簿地产没收时一般归领主而非国王所有，没收原因无非是未依习惯方式转让地产、抛荒、拒绝履行役务等。公簿保有地产可通过以下途径转化为自由保有地产：１保有人弃让，并为领主利益保有地产；２保有人将一切权益让予领主；３领主将该地产以自由保有方式授予他人，原保有人让出地产；４领主将地产性质由公簿保有转为自由保有；５以立法实现。1925年《财产法》〔Law of Property Act〕之后，原来的习惯保有和公簿保有都转化为相应的自由保有或租赁地产；1935年之后有关公簿地产的一些附属权益被取消。 (→villeinage;…

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