Legal Definitions - liberum tenementum

Liberum Tenementum is a historical legal term from English common law, literally meaning "freehold." It referred to a specific legal defense used in cases where someone was accused of trespassing on land. When a person was sued for unlawfully entering or interfering with another's property, they could raise a liberum tenementum defense by asserting that they, in fact, owned the land in question (held a freehold estate) or had explicit permission from the true freehold owner to be there. Essentially, it was a way of saying, "I wasn't trespassing because this land is mine, or I have the owner's permission."

Here are some examples illustrating this concept:

• Imagine a dispute between two medieval landowners, Lord Ashworth and Lady Beatrice. Lord Ashworth accuses Lady Beatrice of allowing her cattle to graze on a section of his pasture, claiming it's trespass. Lady Beatrice, however, asserts that the disputed pasture has always been part of her family's ancestral lands, which she holds as freehold. Her defense would be a plea of liberum tenementum, arguing that she cannot trespass on land she rightfully owns.

• Consider a commoner named Elara, who is accused by a wealthy baron's steward of gathering wild berries from the baron's private woods without permission. Elara, in her defense, produces an old charter signed by the baron's grandfather, granting her village the right to forage for berries in that specific part of the forest. Elara's defense would be based on liberum tenementum, asserting she had authorization from the freehold owner (or their predecessor) to be on and use the land, thus negating the trespass claim.

• Two neighboring farmers, Thomas and William, have a long-standing disagreement over a small, uncultivated strip of land bordering their properties. William builds a small shed on this strip, and Thomas sues him for trespass, claiming the land is his. William responds by asserting that the strip of land has always been considered part of his freehold property, passed down through generations of his family. His legal argument, that he owns the land and therefore cannot trespass on it, would be an example of a liberum tenementum defense in a historical context.