Fire And Sword
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary · Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
Letters of fire and sword were the ancient means for dispossessing a tenant who retained possession contrary to the order of the judge and diligence of the law. They were directed to the sheriff, and ordered him to call the assistance of the county to dispossess the tenant. Bell, Diet.; Ersk. Inst. lib.
4, tit. 3, § 17.