Foiterers

Vagrants. FOLC LAND (Saxon). Land of the people. Spelman. Said by Blackstone to be land held by no assurance in writing, but to have been distributed amongst the common people at the pleasure of the lord, and resumable at his discretion. 2 Bl. Comm. 90; Cowdl. It was probably, however, land which belonged to the community, and which, being parcelled out for a term to people of all conditions, reverted again to the commons at the expiration of the term. I Spence, Eq. Jur. 8; Wharton.

Vagabonds. Blount. FOLC-GEMOTE (spelled, also, folkmote, folcmote, folkffemote; from folc, people, and gemote, an assembly). A general assembly of the people in a town, burgh, or shire. During the time at which the separate tribal nations of Britain were under the control or supremacy of ^be kingdoms of Northumbria, York, and West Saxony successively, the term was applied to the concilium of the freeholders of each village. Tacitus calls it the nation assembled in arms. Their meetings were held each fortnight, and the members bound themselves reciprocally to the peaceable behavior of themselveB, their families, and their dependents; 2 Burke, Abr. Eng. HlsL cb. 7. They chose their rulers, the folc kings, at this tribal moot, settled matters of unjust trading, the common tillage and pasturage, and ail things that concerned the common householder; 1 Soc. Eng. 126, 186. The conqueror so far as possible endeavored to preserve the customs of the people, but with the growth of the royal power the naost important questions were referred to the councillors of the king, comprising the bishops, abbots, and eorldermen who succeeded the folp kings in the folks or shires and designated the witenagemote or council of the folk-moot The meeting of the folk-moot was then transferred to London, and was held thrice a year, and the principal duties that devolved upon It were to hear royal proclamations and statutes, to choose mayors and burgesses, and to pronounce upon offenders the sentence of outlawry; 1 Poll, and Maltl. 642. The folk-moot and the witenagemoto' are said to have been the foundation of the English Parliament. See Stubbs, Sel. Chars. 10-13; Inderwick, King’s Peace; Bagehot, Physics and Politics; Manwood, For. Laws; Spelman, Gloss.; De Brady, Gloss.; Parliament; Witbna-Gbmotb. F0LC-RI6HT. The common right of all the people. A law common to all the realm, mentioned by King Edward the elder. It is doubtless in the same sense that the phrase common law originated. 1 Bla. Com. 65, 67. FO LOLA NO (Sax.). Land of the people. Spelman, Gloss. The subject of land-tenure among the Anglo-Saxons is very obscure. Doubtless all land was originally held In common by the tribe or kingdom, and out of this after a time portions of it were disposed of to individuals. Individual ownership was generally designated by the term alod, which comprised original allotments which had the name ethel, and those which were carved out of the common lands by grant or charter. The tenure of the latter was designated by the term bocland, which la described as “land which is held under a book, under a privilegium, modelled on Roman precedents, expressed in Latin words, armed with ecclesiastical sanctions, and making for alienation and individualism.’' 8 Eng. Hist. Rev. 1-17. The folcland which was not granted as bocland could be let out for temporary occupation as laenland. A late theory maintained, in the review quoted, by Dr. Vinogradoff is that folcland indicated an estate, not belonging to the folk, but held by folk-right or customary law, and not subject to disposition of the holder, id.; Medley, Eng. Const. Hist. 16. On this theory the modern copy-holders are termed the historical successors of the owners of folcland; id, 36; Pollock, Land Laws 48. Nothing is certain except that the terms referred to were used, but their precise scope is the merest speculation, and successive writers invent new theories with the freedom I which is invited by the lack of definite historical or documentary information. The subject affords ample scope for theorizing, as most of what Is written upon the subject is of this character, and it is said that the word folkland is only found technically used three times in Anglo-Saxon documents. The thbory of Vinogradoff above stated is earnestly supported by Maitland (Domesday Book and Beyond). He says, referring to the author cited: “His argument baa convinced us: but as it is still new we will take leave to repeat it with some few additions of our own.” The subject of book-land and folk-land Is elaborately discussed and the three documents in which the latter word occurs, as above stated, are fully described. The conclusion' is thus stated: “Land, it wou Td seem, is either book-land or folk-land. Book-land is land held by book, by a royal and ecclesiastical privilegium. Folk-land is land held without book, by unwritten title, by the folk-law. 'Folk-land,' is the term which modern historians have rejected in favour of the outlandish alod. The holder of folk-land is a free land owner, though at an early date the king discovers that over him and his land there exists an alienable superiority. Partly by alienations of this superiority, partly perhaps by gifts of land of which the king is himself the owner, book-land is created. Edward’s law speaks as though it were dealing with two different kinds of land. But really it is dealing with two dijfferent kinds of title • «. the same land might be both book-land and folk-land, the book-land of the minster, the folk-land of the free ipen who were holding, not indeed 'of' but still 'under' the minster. They or their ancestors had land (which also In a certain sense was his land) to a church.... 'Bookland’ is a briefer term than 'land held by book-right’; 'folk-land’ is a briefer term than ‘land held by folk-right.’ The same piece of land may be held by book-right and by folk-right; it may be book-land and folk-land too.*' See Stubbs, Const. Hist. 86; 1 Poll, and Maitl. 38; Kemble, Sax. in Eng. 306; Lodge, Essays in Anglo Saxon Law 68; Maitland, Domesday Book 226-258; 1 SeL Essays in Anglo-Amer. Leg. Hist. 105.

Vagabonds. Blount.