Estovers
InEnglish law,anestoveris an allowance made to a person out of an estate, or other thing, for his or her support. The wordestovercan also mean specifically an allowance of wood that atenantis allowed to take from the commons, for life or a period of years, for the implements ofhusbandry,hedgesandfences,and forfirewood.[1]
History
[edit]The word derives from theFrenchestover,estovoir,averbused as asubstantivemeaning "that which is necessary". This word is of disputed origin; it has been referred to theLatinstare,to stand, orstudere,to desire.[1]
The Old English word for estover wasboteorboot,also spelledbotorbót,(literally meaning 'good' or 'profit' and cognate with the wordbetter). The various kinds of estovers were known as house-bote, cart or plough-bote, hedge or hay-bote, and fire-bote.Anglo-Saxon lawalso imposed "bot" fines in the modern sense of compensation.[2]These rights might be restricted by expresscovenants.Copyholdershad similar rights over the land they occupied and over the waste of the manor, in which case the rights are known asCommonsof estovers.[1]
Burrill in his datedA law dictionary and glossarypublished in New York (1871) states:
ESTOVER. L. Fr. and Eng. [L. Latestoverium.] An allowance made to a person. See Estoverium. The plural only (estovers) is now used. SeeEstovers.
...
ESTOVERS. L.Fr. and Eng. [L. Lat.estoveriaand more ancientlyestoverium;from Fr.estouver',estover,orestoffer,to furnish, supply or maintain.]
An allowance made to a person out of an estate, or other thing for his or her support, as for food and raiment, (in victuet vestitu).Stat, Gloc. c. 4. SeeEstover,Estoverium.An allowance (more commonly calledalimony,) granted to a woman divorceda mensa et thoro,for her support out of her husband's estate. 1Bl Com.441.
An allowance of wood made to a tenant for life or years; a liberty of taking necessary wood for the use or furniture of his house or farm from off the land demised to him. 2Bl Com.35. 1Steph. Com.241, 260. 2Crabb's Real Prop.76, § 1044.Bisset on Estates,276, 277. 4Kenf's Com.73. This is the ordinary meaning of the word estovers which are also called in law botes embracing the various kinds of house-bote fire-bote plough-bote and hay-bote SeeBotes.Estovers are sometimes erroneously confounded withcommon of estavers(q. v.) and the distinction is not clearly made byBrittonin his 60th chapter,De renables estovers.[3]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^abcChisholm 1911,p. 801.
- ^The legal phrase&n.scillingas to bote,"andn.shillings as compensation "often followed after other fines imposed for the same offense, and is the origin of the modern English phrase," to boot ".Anglo-Saxon dooms from 560-975
- ^Burrill 1871,pp. 565–566.
References
[edit]- Burrill, Alexander Mansfield (1871). "Estorerium".A law dictionary and glossary: containing full definitions of the... and civil law maxims.New York: Baker, Voorhis & Co. pp.565–566.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Estovers".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 801.
