Donatio

Lat. [L. Fr. dofi, done, doun,] In old English law. A gift of lands or chattels. See Done, Defined by Bracton to be a " certain institution, [or established mode of conveyance,] which proceeds from pure liberality and free will, under the compulsion of no law, [and has for its object] to transfer a thing to another;" (qtu Bdam insiitutio, quoe ex mera liberalitate et voluntaie, nullo jure cogente, procedit, ut rem transferat ad alium,) Bract, fol. 11. See Done. Donatio appears to have been the most ancient moae (as do, dedi, daho were the most ancient words) of conveying lands, comprehending a gift, grant or feo£ ment; the latter term signifying nothing more than the gift of a fee, {donatio feudi^ Co, Litt. 9. Crah Vs Hist. Eng. Law, 95. The English " gift" has in modem times been appropriated to signify the conveyance of an estate tail. 2 Bl. Com. 316, 317. But the Latin donatio is constantly used by Bracton in the largest sense, including as well a conveyance m fee simple, {simplex et pura,) as that which was qualified or conditional, {conditionalis or std> tnodo.) Bract. fol. 11, 17. Donatio simplex et pura; a simple and pure gift; one which, without the compulsion of any law, civil or natural, and without the intervention of any reward, menace or force, proceeds from the pure and gratuitous liberality of the donor, and where the donor in no case wills that what he has given, or promises to give, shall return to him. Bract, fol. 11. Otherwise called donatio libera et pura, (a free and pure gift.) Id. fol. 11 b. Donatio conditionalis; a conditional gift, a gift under a condition or qualification, {sub conditione vel sub modo.) Id, foL 11. These terms and distinctions are taken essentially from the civil law. Calvin Lex. Jurid. Donatio absoluta et larga; an absolute and unlimited gift, as to a man and his heirs generally; [a gift in fee simple.] Bract, fol. lib. Donatio stricta et coarctata; a gift restrained and narrowed, that is, to some particular heirs exclusive of others, {sicut ceriis hcsredibuA, quibusdam vero a successione exdusts.) Id, ibid. This answers to a gift in fee tail. I^ematlo mov prt Mnmiiar. A gift IS not presumed. Wharton's Lex, Dmiatio pcrflcltar ^•am^amimmm aeciplea* tis. A g^ft is perfected [made complete] by the possession of the receiver. Jenk. Cent, 109, case 9. A gift is incomplete until possession is delivered. 2 Kent's Com. 438.