Quia Emptores

The Statute of Quia Emptores (1290) was a statute passed by Edward I of England that prevented tenants from leasing their lands to others through subinfeudation. Pre-Quia Emptores tenants were able to lease their title to land such that the land-owning lords did not have any power over the sub-tenant to collect taxes, a practice known as alienation. In its place, a system of substitution was used where the tenant's full interest would be transferred to the purchaser or donee. By effectively ending the practice of subinfeudation, Quia Emptores hastened the end of feudalism per se in England. As cash rents and direct sales of land took the place of direct feudal obligations that had been made impractical by Quia Emptores, such gave rise to the practice of 'livery and maintenance', or 'bastard feudalism', the retention of soldiers and servants via direct salary or cash payments as opposed to the outmoded feudal obligations. Such in turn was one of the underlying causes of the Wars of the Roses, the English civil wars fought by the noble Houses of York and Lancaster for control of the British Crown between 1455-1485. By the mid-fifteenth century the major nobility, particularly the Houses of York and Lancaster, were able to assemble vast estates and considerable sums of money via substitution. The two noble Houses were thus able to keep large private armies on retainer, making them more powerful than the Crown itself, with the consequent wars between the two Houses for ultimate control of the realm.

--Lonesome Crow 08:44, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

External links

• Quia Emptores legal history
• Quia Emptores (Yale)