Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Term: Cornage
Definition: Cornage is a type of old-fashioned agreement between a landowner and a tenant. In the past, the tenant was required to blow a horn to warn others when an enemy was approaching. This was called a horn tenure. The tenant was also required to pay rent based on the number of horned cattle they owned. Cornage may have developed as a way to protect the border with Scotland. Sometimes, instead of paying rent, the tenant would give the landowner a special type of corn as a tribute on special occasions.
Cornage (pronounced kor-nij) is a type of historical military tenure that originated in Anglo-French culture. It has two main meanings:
The term cornage may have developed into a type of serjeanty or knight-service tenure that obligated the tenant to blow a horn to warn of invaders, especially along the border with Scotland. This was a way to protect the land and people from enemy attacks.
Another meaning of cornage is a tribute of corn due only on special occasions, as distinguished from a regularly provided service. This was a way for tenants to pay their rent to the landowner.
The term has often been spelled coraage or coraagium, stemming perhaps from a spelling error in the 1569 edition of Bracton's De Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae.
These examples illustrate how cornage was a way for landowners and tenants to interact and protect their interests in medieval times. It was a system of obligations and benefits that helped to maintain order and stability in society.