Thereisnotmuchtochoosebetweenthisandtheenrolmentofa’brevedemonstraverunt’intheusualsensebeyondthefactthatitisenteredonaRollofExchequerMemoranda。In1292amandateofKingEdwardItotheBaronsoftheExchequerisenteredinbehalfofthemenofCosteseyeinNorfolkwhocomplainedofdiversgrievancesagainstAthelwaldofCrea，thebailiffofthemanor。Thepetitionitselfisenrolledalso，anditsetsforth，thatwhereasthepoormenofthekingofthebasetenureinthemanorofCosteseyeheldbycertainusages，fromatimeofwhichmemoryrunsnohigher，aswellunderthecountsofBrittanyasunderthekingstowhomthemanorwasforfeited，nowbailiffAthelwalddistrainsthemtodootherserviceswhichoughttobeperformedbypurevillains。Theycouldsellandleasetheirlandsinthefieldsatpleasure，andheseizeslandswhichhavebeensoldinthiswayandamercesthemforselling；besidesthishemakesthemserveasreevesandcollectors，andthebailiffofthelateQueenEleanortallagedthemfromyeartoyeartopaytwentymarks，whichtheywerenotboundtodo，becausetheyarenovillainstobetallagedhighandlow。53*Suchisthesubstanceofthisremarkabledocument，towhichIshallhavetoreferagaininotherconnexions。WhatIwishtoestablishnowis，thatwehaveontheking’sownpossessionstheexactcounterpartofthe’brevedemonstraverunt。’Theinstancesadducedareperhapsthemorecharacteristicbecausethepetitionershadnoteventhestrictprivilegeofancientdemesnetoleanupon，asoneofthecasescomesfromNorthumberland，whichisnotmentionedinDomesday，andtheotherconcernstenantsofthehonourofRichmond。
Therecanbenodoubtthatthetenantryontheancientdemesnehadevenbetterreasonsforappealingtoimmemorialusage，andcertainlytheyknewhowtourgetheirgrievances。WemaytakeasaninstancethenoticeofatrialconsequentuponacomplaintofthemenofBrayagainsttheConstableofWindsor。
Braywasancientdemesneandtheking’stenantscomplainedthattheyweredistrainedtodootherservicesthantheywereusedtodo。Thejudgmentwasintheirfavour。54*
Thechiefpointisthatthewritof’Monstraverunt’appearstobeconnectedwithpetitionstothekingagainsttheexactionsofhisofficers，andmaybesaidinitsorigintobeapplicableasmuchtotheactualpossessionsofthecrownastothosewhichhadbeengrantedawayfromit。Thisexplainsaveryremarkableomissioninourbestauthorities。Althoughthewritplayedsuchanimportantpartinthelawofancientdemesne，andwassopeculiarinitsformandsubstance，neitherBractonnorhisfollowersmentionitdirectly。Theysetdown’thelittlewritofrightclose’astheonlywritavailableforthevillainsocmen。
Astheprotectioninpointofservicesisneverthelessdistinctlyaffirmedbythosewriters，andastheMonstraveruntappearsinfullworkingorderinthetimeofHenryIIIandevenofJohn，55*theobviousexplanationseemstobethatBractonregardedthecaseasonenotofwritbutofpetition，amatter，wemightsay，ratherforroyalequitythanforstrictlaw。Thusboththetwomodesofprocedurewhicharedistinctiveoftheancientdemesne，namelythe’parvumbreve’andthe’Monstraverunt，’thoughtheyattaintheirfulldevelopmentonthemanorsthathavebeenalienated，seemreallytooriginateonmanorswhichareintheactualpossessionofthecrown。
Ifwenowexaminetheconditionsunderwhichthemanorsoftheancientdemesnewerealienatedbythecrown，weshallatonceseethatnoverydefinitelinecouldbedrawnbetweenthosewhichhadbeengivenawayandthosewhichremainedintheking’shand。
Theoneclassgraduallyshadesoffintotheother。AverygoodexampleisaffordedbythehistoryofStoneleighAbbey。In1154
KingHenryIIgavetheCistercianmonksofRadmoreinStaffordshirehismanorofStoneleighinexchangefortheirpossessionsinRadmore。ThecharterasgivenintheRegisteroftheAbbeyseemstoamounttoacompletegrantofthelandandofthejurisdiction。Nevertheless，wefindHenryIIdrawingallkindsofperquisitesfromtheplaceallthroughhisreign，anditisspeciallynoticedthathiswritsweredirectednottotheAbbotortheAbbot’sbailiffs，buttohisownbailiffsinStoneleigh。56*Inordertogetridoftheinconveniencesconsequentuponsuchmixedownership，AbbotWilliamofTysoboughtacharterfromKingJohn，grantingtotheAbbeyallthesokeofStoneleigh。57*Butallthesametheroyalrightsdidnotyetdisappear。Thereweretenantsconnectedwiththeplacewhowereimmediatelydependentontheking，58*andhisbailiffcontinuedtoexercisefunctionsbythesideof，andinconjunctionwith，theofficersoftheAbbot。59*Inthe50thyearofHenryIIIaremarkablecaseoccurred：——acertainAlexanderofCanlewastriedforusurpingtherightsoftheAbbotastothetenantryinthehamletofCanle，anditcameoutthatoneofhisancestorshadsucceededinimprovinghispositionofcollectoroftherevenueintothepositionofanowneroftherents。AlthoughtherightswhichwerevindicatedagainsthimweretherightsoftheAbbot，stillthekingenteredintopossessionandafterwardstransferredthepossessiontotheAbbot。60*Inoneword，thekingisalwaysconsideredas’theseniorlord’ofStoneleigh；hislordshipissomethingmoredirectthanamerefeudalover-lordship。61*
WefindasimilarstateofthingsatKing’sRipton。ThemanorhadbeenletinfeefarmtotheAbbotsofRamsey。Incaseofatenementlapsingintothelord’shands，itisseizedsometimesbythebailiffoftheking，sometimesbythebailiffsoftheAbbot。62*TheroyalwritsagainaredirectednottotheAbbot，buttohisbailiff。ThesamewasthecaseatStoneleigh，63*andindeedthisseemstohavebeentheregularcourseonancientdemesnemanors。64*Thiscuriouswayofignoringthelordhimselfandaddressingthewritdirectlytohisofficersseemsanoutcomeofthefundamentalassumptionthatofthesemanorstherewasnoreallordbuttheking，andthattheprivatelord’sofficerswereactingastheking’sbailiffs。
Accordingtocurrentnotionsthedemesnesofthecrownoughtnottohavebeenalienatedatall。Althoughalienatedbyonekingtheywereconsideredasliabletoberesumedbyhissuccessors。65*Andasamatteroffactsuchresumptionswerebynomeansunusual。EdwardIgaveanadequateexpressiontothisdoctrinewhenheorderedaninquisitionintothestateofthetenantryatStoneleigh：——hedidnotwishanyencroachmentmadeontheoldconstitutionofthemanor，forhehadalwaysinmindthepossibilitythathisroyalrightswouldberesumedbyhimselforbyoneofhissuccessors。66*
Ifweturntothecourtrollsofamanorwhichisactuallyintheking’shandandcomparethemwiththoseofamanorwhichhehasgrantedtosomeconventorsomeprivatelord，weseehardlyanydifferencebetweenthem。TherollsofthemanorofHaveringattheRecordOffice，althoughcomparativelylate，affordagoodinsightintotheconstitutionofamanorretainedintheking’sownhand。Theycontainagoodmanywritsofright，andthough，naturallyenough，thetenantsdonotbringactionsagainsttheking，wefindaninstanceinwhichthekingbringsanactionagainsthistenant，andpleadsbeforeacourtwhichisheldinhisownname。67*Thisisgoodproofthattheconditionofthetenantswasbynomeansdependentonthearbitraryactionofthemanorialofficers。WhenKingHenryIIgrantedStoneleightotheCistercianshedisplacedanumberof’rustics’fromtheirholdings，andwhiledoingthisherecognisedtheirrightandenjoinedthesheriffofWarwickshiretogivethemanequivalentforwhattheyhadlostinconsequenceofthegrant。68*Thenotionfromwhichallinquiryconsequentupona’Monstraverunt’
startsisalwaysthis，thatthetenantswereholdingbycertaini。e。byfixedservicesatthetimewhenthemanorwasintheking’sownhand。Thecertaintyisnotcreatedbythefactthatthemanorpassesawayfromthekingtosomeoneelse；itexistswhenthelandisroyallandandthereforecannotbedestroyedonlandthathasbeenalienated。SotrueisthisthatBractonandBrittongivetheiroftenciteddescriptionofprivilegedvillainagewithoutalludingtothequestionwhetherornothemanorisstillintheking’shand；69*Brittonevenappliesthisdescriptionprimarilytotheking’sownpossessionsbyhiswayofstatingthelawasthedirectutteranceoftheking’scommand。
Thewell-knownfactthatthe’ferm’orrentofroyalmanorswasnotalwaysfixed，thatweconstantlyhearofanincreasedrentalincrementumleviedinadditiontotheold’ferm’，assisaredditusantiquitusassisus，canbeeasilyreconciledwiththisdoctrine。70*Theprosperityofthecountrywasgraduallyrising；bothinagriculturalcommunitiesandintownsnewtenementsandhouses，newoccupationsandrevenuesweregrowing，anditwasnottheinteresteitherofthecommunitiesorofthelordtocompressthisdevelopmentwithinanunelasticbond。Inprincipletheincreasedpaymentsfellonthisnewgrowthonthedemesne，althoughthismayinsomecaseshavebeenduetoexactionsagainstwhichthepeoplecouldremonstrateonlyinthenameofimmemorialcustom，andonlybywayofpetitionsincenobodycouldjudgetheking。Inprinciple，too，certaintyofconditionwasadmittedastotheprivilegedvillainsontheking’sdemesnes。71*
Thisservestoexplaintheprocedurefollowedbythecourtwhenaquestionofserviceswasraisedbyawritof’Monstraverunt。’Thefirstthing，ofcourse，wastoascertainwhetherthemanorwasancientdemesneornot，andforthispurposenothingshortofadirectmentioninDomesdaywasheldtobesufficient。72*Whenthisquestionhadbeensolvedintheaffirmative，ajuryhadtodecidewhatthecustomsanddutieswere，bywhichtheancestorsoftheplaintiffsheldatthetimewhenthecrownwaspossessedofthemanor。InprincipleitwasalwaysconsideredthatsuchhadbeentheservicesatthetimeoftheConquest，73*butpractically，ofcourse，therecouldbenoattempttoexamineintosuchancienthistory。ThemenofKing’sRiptonactuallypleadedbacktothetimeofKingCnut，andmaintainedthatnoprescriptionwasavailableagainsttheirrightsasnoprescriptioncouldavailagainsttheking。74*Thecourtsnaturallydeclinedtogohigherthanmencouldremember，buttheylaiddownthislimitationentirelyasoneofpracticeandnotofprinciple。75*MetinghamdemandedthattheclaimantsshouldmakegoodtheircontentionevenforasingledayinRichardCoeurdeLion’stime。76*ThemenofWyclecombinebothassertionsintheircontentionagainstMauger；theyappealtotheageofthefirstNormankings，butoffertoprovethecertaintyoftheirservicesinthereignsofRichardandJohn。77*
Nowallthathasbeensaidhithertoappliedto’thetenantsinancientdemesne’indiscriminately，withoutregardtoanydiversityofclassesamongthem。HithertoIhavenotnoticedanysuchdiversity，andinsodoingIamwarrantedbytheauthorities。Thoseauthoritiescommonlyspeakof’men’or’tenantsinancientdemesne’withoutanyfurtherqualification。78*Sometimestheexpression’conditionofancientdemesne’alsoisused。Butcloserexaminationshowsavarietyofclassesontheprivilegedsoil，andleadstoanumberofdifficultandinterestingproblems。
Tobeginwith，thenatureofthetenancyingeneralhasbeenmuchcontested。AstothelawoflatertimesMrEltonputsthecaseinthisway：’Thereisgreatconfusioninthelawbooksrespectingthistenure。Thecopyholdersofthesemanorsaresometimescalledtenantsinancientdemesne，andlandheldinthistenureissaidtopassbysurrenderandadmittance。Thisappearstobeinaccurate。Itisonlythefreeholderswhoaretenantsinancientdemesne，andtheirlandpassesbycommonlawconveyanceswithouttheinstrumentalityofthelord。EvenSirW。
Blackstoneseemstohavebeenmisleduponthispoint。Therearehowever，asarule，inmanorsofancientdemesne，customaryfreeholdersandsometimescopyholdersatthewillofthelord，aswellasthetruetenantsinancientdemesne。’79*Nowsuchadescriptionseemsstrangelyoutofkeepingwiththehistoryofthetenure。Blackstonespeaksofprivilegedcopyholdasdescendedfromprivilegedvillainage；80*andastotheconditioninthethirteenthcenturyofthose’men’or’tenantsinancientdemesne’
ofwhomwehavebeenspeaking，therecanbenodoubt。Bractonandhisfollowerslaydownquitedistinctlythattheirtenureisvillainagethoughprivilegedvillainage。Themenofancientdemesnearemenoffreebloodholdinginvillainage。81*AndtotakeupthespecialpointmentionedbyMrElton——conveyancebysurrenderandadmittanceisaquitenecessaryfeatureofthetenure：82*conveyancebychartermakesthelandfreeholdanddestroysitsancientdemesnecondition。83*Butalthoughthisissoclearintheauthoritiesofthethirteenthcentury，thereisundoubtedlyagreatdealofconfusioninlaterlawbooks，andreasonsarenotwantingwhichmayaccountforthisfactandforthedoctrinepropoundedbyMrEltoninconformitywithcertainmoderntreatisesanddecisions。