License for Alienation

Description

A license for alienation is a type of document which describes the salability of a particular tract of land. The land will either be described as “alienable,” in which case it can be sold, or “inalienable” or “in mortmain,” in which case it cannot be sold and will be held in perpetuity by one owner. Land unable to be sold within the context of the Atlas of a Medieval Life project was generally held by Hereford Cathedral. Due to the source of the surviving licenses, most of these documents describe tracts of land held in mortmain. Scholars use licenses for alienation in studies of property law in the Middle Ages, especially in the 13th century and later, and they are still common documents in the modern day.