Legal Definitions - cessavit per biennium

Cessavit per biennium is a historical legal concept referring to a specific type of legal action, known as a writ, that allowed a landowner to reclaim property under certain circumstances.

Historically, this writ was available to a landlord or grantor of land to recover possession of that land if the tenant or recipient had failed to fulfill their agreed-upon obligations for a continuous period of two years. These obligations could include paying rent, providing specific services, or performing certain duties associated with the land grant. It is also sometimes referred to simply as cessavit.

Here are some examples illustrating how cessavit per biennium would have applied:

• Example 1: Unpaid Rent on a Farm Lease

  Imagine a medieval lord, Lord Ashworth, who leased a portion of his estate, including a farm and a cottage, to a tenant farmer, Thomas. The lease agreement stipulated that Thomas must pay an annual rent in coin and a portion of his harvest. If Thomas, due to hardship or neglect, failed to pay any rent or provide the agreed-upon harvest for two consecutive years, Lord Ashworth could initiate a cessavit per biennium action to legally reclaim the farm and cottage, thereby ending Thomas's tenancy.

• Example 2: Failure to Provide Community Services

  Consider a wealthy merchant, Lady Beatrice, who granted a plot of land in her town to a newly formed guild of artisans. The condition of the grant was that the guild would maintain a public well on the property and provide free water to the town's residents. If the guild neglected this duty, allowing the well to fall into disrepair and ceasing to provide water for a period exceeding two years, Lady Beatrice or her heirs could invoke cessavit per biennium to recover the land, arguing that the fundamental condition of the grant had been breached.

• Example 3: Neglect of Spiritual Duties for a Land Grant

  In a historical context, a devout nobleman might have donated a significant parcel of land to a monastery, with the explicit condition that the monks would perform daily prayers for the souls of his family members. If, for any reason, the monastery ceased these specific spiritual services for a continuous period of two years, the nobleman's descendants could have used cessavit per biennium to legally challenge the monastery's right to the land and seek its return to the family estate.