Bracton: Thorne Edition: English. Volume 3, Page 272

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Volume 3, Page 272

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[001] have the whole in common with the others. When one dies no part descends to his
[002] heir, separately or in common, before the death of all, but that common part by the
[003] jus accrescendi¹ accrues to the survivors, from person to person to the last survivor,
[004] and when he dies the assise of mortdancestor will then first lie for the heirs; thus
[005] recourse must always be had to the last seisin. No matter which of them dies first,
[006] recourse must always be had to the last seisin, but suppose that by mistake an heir
[007] brings the assise on the death of his father or mother who died first when he ought to
[008] bring it on the death of him who died last. Quaere whether he may be restored. We
[009] must see whether or not he withdrew in good time before the taking of the assise.
[010] If so, he will have recourse to another assise; if not, he will not, for an assise may no
[011] more be taken on an assise, when both are concerned with the same thing and the
[012] same death, than an assise of novel disseisin lies between the same persons with
[013] respect to the same deed;² let him who erred blame himself. But if the gift is made to
[014] several successively, that is, ‘to such a one and his heirs, those born of his body, and
[015] if he has none, or though he has them they fail, then to such a one and his heirs in the
[016] same way,’ and so to several, if the first after having issue dies seised, the assise is at
[017] once available to his heirs. If he has no issue at all, or though he has they fail, the
[018] right then descends to the other feoffees, not by the causa of succession, so that the
[019] assise of mortdancestor lies, but by reason of the first gift and by the modus of
[020] the feoffment; another writ will be needed.³

If one makes a gift for his life to another alone, without his heirs, or to another and his heirs.

[022] One may make a gift so that neither he nor the donee nor their heirs will have an
[023] assise of mortdancestor, as where one says ‘I give ten to such a one for my lifetime.’
[024] If the donee survives the donor, the assise does not lie for the donor's heir but the
[025] writ ‘for a term which is past,’ since the thing given is the donor's free tenement and
[026] the donee's term.⁴ If the donee dies during the life of the donor, we must then distinguish
[027] whether the gift was made to the donee only or to him and his heirs. If only
[028] to the donee, the thing then reverts to the donor, since the donee's heirs are not
[029] included in the gift, because there is no provision in the modus of the gift for it to
[030] descend or revert to anyone except to him from whom it came. If the gift is to
[031] the donee and his heirs, and he and his

Notes

1. Supra ii, 54, 76, 95

2. Infra 354

3. Supra ii, 195, 201, infra iv, 179

4. Supra ii, 57, 91