t 1150, heiresses divided the
land of their father if there was no son. The widow, of course,
retained her dower rights. As of 1176, the widow held her dower
from the heir instead of from the husband's lord. If the heir was
a minor, the guardian lord would be in actual control of the land.
A national policy was implemented that in the case of the death of
a freeholder, the rights of the family, his will, and his debts
were to be provided for before relief was paid to his lord.

Eventually royal justices acquired authority to decide the
ultimate question of right to land using the grand assize as an
alternative to the traditional procedures which ended in trial by
combat. Issues of the ultimate right of seisin were brought to the
Royal Court by a contestant in a local court who "put himself [or
herself] upon the King's grand assize". The assize consisted of
twelve knights from the county or neighborhood who were elected by
four knights of the same county or neighborhood (selected by the
sheriff or the suitors) and who were known as truthful men and
were likely to possess knowledge of the facts, either from
personal seeing or hearing, or from statements which their fathers
had made to them from their personal knowledge. The avenue by
which a person who felt he had not had justice in the manor court
on his claim for certain freehold land appealed to the king was by
writ of right after the manor court's decision or by a writ
praecipe during the manor court's proceeding. An example of a writ
praecipe is: "The king to the sheriff greeting. Command [praecipe]
N. to render to R. justly and without delay one hide of land in a
certain vill, which the said R. complains that the aforesaid N. is
withholding from him. If he does not do so, summon him by good
summoners to be before me or my justices on the day after the
octaves of Easter, to show why he has not done so. And have the
summoners and this writ. Witness." When the parties appeared in
court, the claimant states his suit such as: "I claim against this
N. the fee of half a knight and two carucates of land in a certain
vill as my right and my inheritance, of which my father (or
grandfather) was seized in his demesne as of fee in the time of
King Henry the First, and from which he took the profits to the
value of five shillings at least, in grain and hay and other
profits; and this I am ready to prove by this freeman of mine, H.,
and if any evil befalls him them by this other