he Norman Conquest.

If a man purchased land after his marriage, his wife's dower is
still one-third of the land he had when they married, or less if
he had endowed her with less. But he could then enlarge her dower
to one-third of all of his lands. The same rule applied if the man
had no land, but endowed his wife with chattel or money instead.

Dower law prevented a woman from selling her dower during the life
of her husband. But he could sell it or give it away. On his
death, its possessor had to give the widow the equivalent worth of
the property.

A widower had all his wife's lands by curtesy of the nation for
his lifetime to the exclusion of her heirs.

The Capital Messuage [Chief Manor] could not be given in dower or
divided, but went in its entirety to its heir.

Heirs were firstly sons, then daughters, then grandsons per
stirpes, then granddaughters per stirpes, then brothers, and then
sisters of the decedent. [By taking "per stirpes" instead of "per
capita", a person's share goes to that person's heirs if that
person predeceases the ancestor-decedent.] Male heirs of land held
by military service or sons of knights who were under the age of
twenty-one were considered to be in custody of their lords. The
lord had wardship over the heir's land, excluding the third that
was the widow's dower for her life. He had to maintain the heir in
a manner suitable to his dignity and restore to him when he came
of age his inheritance in good condition discharged from debts.
Male heirs of sokemen who were under the age of fifteen were in
the custody of their nearest kindred. The son of a burgess came of
age when he could count money, measure cloth, and manage his
father's concerns.

Female heirs remained in the custody of their lords until they
married. The lord was bound to find a marriage for his ward when
she became fourteen years of age and then deliver her inheritance
to her. She could not marry without her lord's consent, because
her husband was expected to be the lord's ally and to do homage to
him. But if a female heir lost her virginity, her inheritance
escheated to her lord. A woman with property could not do homage
because she could not perform military service, but she generally
swore fealty. She could receive homage from men.

Bastards were not heirs, even if their father married their mother
after birth.

Any adult inheriting land had to pay a "relief" to the lord of the
land. For a knight's fee, this