Legal Definitions - cum communi pastura

Cum communi pastura is a historical Latin legal phrase meaning "with common pasturage." It refers to a specific type of legal right, known as a servitude, that allowed one landowner to graze their livestock on a defined portion of another person's private property. This was distinct from a general "right of common," which typically involved shared rights over communal land available to a broader community. Instead, "cum communi pastura" established a private burden on one property for the benefit of another, granting a specific right to pasture animals.

Here are some examples illustrating how this term would apply:

• Feudal Land Grant: Imagine a medieval lord granting a parcel of agricultural land to a tenant farmer. The charter for this grant might include the phrase "cum communi pastura" over a specific, larger meadow that remained under the lord's direct ownership. This meant the tenant, despite not owning the meadow, gained a specific legal right to graze their sheep or cattle there, which was a burden on the lord's property. It was not a general right for all villagers, but a particular right tied to that tenant's specific landholding.

• Private Land Sale: Consider a scenario in 17th-century England where a large farmer, Mr. Davies, sells a section of his estate to a neighboring farmer, Mr. Evans. The deed of sale specifies that Mr. Davies retains the right, "cum communi pastura," to graze his dairy cows on a particular five-acre field within the land sold to Mr. Evans. This might be because that specific field had the best grass or access to a vital stream, and Mr. Davies needed it for his remaining herd. This clause created a continuing right for the seller (Mr. Davies) to use a specific part of the buyer's (Mr. Evans's) private land for grazing, establishing a servitude on Mr. Evans's property.

• Estate Division by Will: In the 18th century, a wealthy landowner might divide his vast estate among his children through his will. If one child inherited a smaller, mostly forested parcel, the will might stipulate that this child was granted "cum communi pastura" over a specific open pasture located on the eldest child's inherited land. This provision would ensure the child with the smaller parcel had adequate grazing for their few livestock. Here, the youngest child's property benefits from the right to graze on the eldest child's property, creating a legal burden (servitude) on the eldest child's land to allow for the pasturage.