Legal Definitions - license in amortization

A license in amortization was a historical legal permission granted by the Crown (the monarch) in England. It allowed a corporate body, most commonly a religious institution like a monastery or church, to legally acquire and permanently hold ownership of land or property.

Without this special license, such an acquisition would have been prohibited and deemed invalid under a set of laws known as the "statutes of mortmain." These statutes were enacted to prevent land from being permanently held by corporate bodies, which would remove it from feudal obligations and royal taxes, thereby diminishing the Crown's revenue and control. Essentially, a license in amortization served as an official exemption from this general prohibition, permitting specific land transfers to corporate entities.

• Example 1: A Monastery's Endowment

  Imagine a wealthy noble in the 14th century wishing to donate a large estate, including farmlands and a village, to a local monastery. The noble's intention is for the monastery to use the income from this land to support its monks, maintain its buildings, and fund its charitable work for the poor. Under the statutes of mortmain, the monastery, as a perpetual corporate body, was generally forbidden from permanently owning such land. To make the noble's generous donation legally valid and ensure the monastery could hold the property indefinitely, the monastery or the noble would have needed to obtain a license in amortization from the King. This license would specifically authorize that particular transfer of property to the monastery, overriding the general prohibition.

• Example 2: A College Acquiring Property

  Consider a newly established college in medieval Oxford, founded to educate scholars and clergy. To provide a stable income for its operations, faculty, and students, the college sought to acquire several parcels of agricultural land and rental properties within the town. As a corporate entity, the college was subject to the same mortmain restrictions as religious houses. Therefore, before it could legally take ownership of these income-generating properties, the college would have had to petition the Crown for a license in amortization. This license would grant the necessary legal authority for the college to hold these properties in perpetuity, ensuring its long-term financial viability for educational purposes.

• Example 3: A Guild's Charitable Foundation

  In a bustling medieval city, a powerful guild of merchants decided to establish a perpetual charitable foundation to provide pensions for its elderly members and support for their widows and orphans. A prominent merchant, upon his death, bequeathed a manor house and its surrounding lands to this foundation, intending the rental income to fund its benevolent activities. Since the foundation, like other corporate bodies, was subject to the statutes of mortmain, this bequest would normally be invalid. To ensure the foundation could legally own and benefit from the bequeathed property, its trustees would have needed to secure a license in amortization from the King. This license would legalize the transfer of the manor and lands to the foundation, allowing it to fulfill its charitable mission without legal challenge.