Legal Definitions - mese

Mese is a historical legal term that refers to a house or dwelling. It was commonly used in medieval English legal documents and land records to denote a residential property, often including its associated land and outbuildings.

Here are some examples to illustrate the use of "mese":

• Imagine a will from the 14th century where a landowner bequeaths his property. The will might state: "I give and devise unto my eldest son, John, my entire estate, including the mese wherein I now reside, along with all its appurtenances and lands."

  Explanation: This example illustrates "mese" as the specific house the testator lived in, demonstrating its use to identify a primary dwelling within a larger estate in historical legal contexts.

• Consider a historical court record from the 15th century detailing a dispute between two neighbors over property boundaries. One party might claim, "My family has held continuous possession of the mese and its garden for three generations, and the disputed fence encroaches upon our rightful land."

  Explanation: Here, "mese" refers to the house that forms the core of the family's property, highlighting its role in defining the extent of a residential holding in historical legal arguments.