Legal Definitions - levance and couchance

Levance and couchance is a historical legal term that refers to the condition where stray livestock, such as cattle or sheep, have remained on another person's land for a sufficient period, typically a full day and night. This duration was historically significant because it established certain legal consequences. The term literally translates to "rising up and lying down," signifying that the animals had settled on the land for a substantial period, thereby incurring specific rights or liabilities for either the landowner or the animal's owner.

• Example 1: Trespassing Livestock Causing Damage

  Imagine a scenario where a rancher's herd of cattle escapes their enclosure and wanders onto a neighboring farmer's cultivated fields. The cattle spend the entire night and the following day grazing freely, consuming and trampling the farmer's valuable crops. Because the cattle have been present on the farmer's land for a full day and night, having "risen up" and "lain down" there, the condition of levance and couchance is met. Historically, this would have legally entitled the farmer to seize the trespassing cattle (a process known as distress damage feasant) until the rancher compensated him for the extensive damage to his crops.

• Example 2: Implied Responsibility for Strays

  Consider a situation in a rural area where a small flock of sheep, having strayed from their owner's property, are discovered sheltering in an open barn on a different landowner's estate during a severe storm. The estate owner, unable to immediately locate the sheep's true owner, provides them with food and water for more than 24 hours. In a historical legal context, the sheep's prolonged presence on the estate, fulfilling the criteria of levance and couchance, could imply that the estate owner had temporarily taken on a duty of care or a form of possession over the animals. Conversely, the original owner might become liable for the costs incurred by the estate owner for the sheep's keep during this period.

• Example 3: Distinguishing Accidental Straying from Established Trespass

  In a historical village setting, villagers often had rights to graze their animals on designated common lands. However, if a villager's goat was consistently found grazing not on the common, but on a private garden plot adjacent to it for a full day and night, the principle of levance and couchance would apply. This prolonged presence would signify a clear and established trespass, distinguishing it from a brief, accidental wander. The garden owner would then have historical legal grounds to seek compensation for the consumed plants or to impound the goat, based on the duration of its unauthorized stay.