feoffer

A knight acts as a feoffer, granting a parcel of land to a loyal vassal.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • In law (historical): A "feoffer" is a person who grants a fief or fee (a piece of land held under feudal tenure) to another person, known as the feoffee. This act is typically formalized through a legal document called a feoffment.

Usage Examples

• (The person who grants the land as a fief.)
• (The grantor of the fief retains residual authority.)

Advanced Usage

• "to act as feoffer": to perform the role of granting a fief.

  • The king acted as feoffer for all lands in the kingdom. (The monarch granted feudal estates.)

• "feoffer and feoffee": a paired legal term referring to the grantor and recipient of a fief.

  • The feoffer and feoffee signed the charter of feoffment. (Both parties formalized the land transfer.)

Variants and Related Words

• Feoffment (n): the legal process or document by which a fief is granted.

  • The feoffment was recorded in the local court rolls. (The land grant document was officially noted.)

• Feoffee (n): the person who receives the fief from the feoffer.

  • The feoffee swore an oath of loyalty to the feoffer. (The recipient pledged allegiance.)

Synonyms

• Grantor: a person who gives or transfers property to another.
• Donor: one who bestows a gift or estate (in a feudal context).

Phrasal Verbs

• • To enfeoff: to grant a fief to someone.

    • The lord enfeoffed his vassal with a parcel of land. (The lord granted a fief to his vassal.)

Related Idioms