Legal Definitions - cosinage

Cosinage was a historical legal action, or "writ," used in medieval English law.

Its purpose was to allow an heir to claim possession of land that had been owned by a specific type of deceased relative. This writ was particularly relevant when the land belonged to a great-great-grandfather or certain collateral relatives, such as a great-uncle or a first cousin, and the heir believed they had a rightful claim to it.

Here are some examples illustrating how a writ of cosinage might have been used:

• Imagine a situation where a man named Lord Alistair died in the 13th century, owning a vast estate. His great-great-grandson, Sir Reginald, believed that the land rightfully belonged to him as the direct heir. However, after Lord Alistair's death, the land had somehow fallen into the possession of a distant relative or even an unrelated party. Sir Reginald would have initiated a writ of cosinage to assert his claim and recover the land that his great-great-grandfather had once held.

  This example demonstrates cosinage being used to claim land from a great-great-grandfather, a specific ancestral relationship covered by the writ.

• Consider Lady Beatrice, whose great-uncle, Sir Godfrey (her grandfather's brother), passed away without any children or a direct will. Sir Godfrey owned a valuable manor. Following his death, a more distant cousin or even a local lord with a weaker claim took control of the property. Lady Beatrice, as a closer collateral heir, would have employed a writ of cosinage to legally challenge the current possessor and establish her rightful inheritance to Sir Godfrey's manor.

  This illustrates cosinage being used to claim land from a collateral relative (a great-uncle), highlighting its application beyond direct lineal ancestors.

• Suppose Master Edward sought to recover a valuable piece of farmland. This land had belonged to his first cousin, Master Francis, who died unexpectedly without leaving a will or any direct descendants. Another distant relative, perhaps a second cousin, or even a stranger, had taken possession of the farm. Master Edward, as a first cousin, would have used a writ of cosinage to prove his closer familial relationship and rightful claim to Master Francis's land.

  Here, cosinage is applied to a claim involving a first cousin, another type of collateral relative, showing its breadth in addressing inheritance disputes among non-direct descendants.