Mortmain

Mortmain is the perpetual, inalienable ownership of real estate by a corporation or legal institution; the term is usually used in the context of its prohibition. Historically, the land owner usually would be the religious office of a church; today, insofar as mortmain prohibitions against perpetual ownership still exist, it refers most often to modern companies and charitable trusts. The term "mortmain" is derived from Mediaeval Latin mortua manus, literally "dead hand", through Old French morte main.

During the Middle Ages in countries such as England, the church acquired a substantial amount of real estate. As the church and religious orders were each recognised as a legal person separate from the office holder who administered the church land (such as the abbot or the bishop), the land would not escheat on the death of the holder, or pass by inheritance, as the church and the religious orders would not die. The land was held in perpetuity. This was in contrast to feudal practice in which the nobility would hold land granted by the king in return for service, especially service in war.

Over time, the church gained a large share of land in many feudal states; this was a cause of increasing tension between the church and the Crown.

In 1279 and again in 1290 Statutes of Mortmain were passed by King Edward I to impose limits on the church's holding of property, although limits on the church's power to hold land are also found in earlier statutes, including the Magna Carta of 1215 and the Provisions of Westminster of 1259. The broad effect of these provisions was that the authorisation of the Crown was needed before the land could vest perpetually in a corporation. As an example of the response of the institutions, the chartulary of Chertsey Abbey records that "shortly after one of these statutes vulgarly called Mortmain" 11 acres (4.5 ha) in Ash, Surrey were held by Robert de Zathe with sufficient common pasture for his flocks and herds, while Geoffrey de Bacsete and his brother William had 28 acres (11 ha).

...
Wikipedia