feoffor

A feoffor is a historical term used in feudal land law to describe the grantor in a feoffment, the person who conveys a parcel of land to another individual called the feoffee. The feoffor transfers possession and the right to use the land through the act of feoffment, typically by livery of seisin, while the feoffee becomes possessed of the estate under the feudal tenure system. The term is largely archaic and is encountered in medieval and early modern English legal texts.

Historical context and procedure: Feoffment arose in the medieval period as a formal method of transferring an estate in land from one person to another. The feoffor would deliver seisin—the legal possession of the land—into the feoffee’s hands, often in the presence of witnesses. This transfer established the feoffee’s rights to the land under the overlord’s sovereignty, in exchange for agreed services or obligations. The relationship created by a feoffment was part of the broader system of feudal tenure, wherein lords granted land to vassals in return for loyalty, military service, or other duties.

Legal significance and evolution: The feoffor’s act of feoffment was central to creating or continuing a feudal estate. Over time, feoffment fell out of regular use as modern conveyancing developed through deeds and titles. In contemporary law, the term survives mainly for historical or scholarly discussion, serving as a reminder of medieval methods of土地 transfer and tenure.

See also: feoffment, feoffee, seisin, livery of seisin, feudal tenure.