Escheat synonyms

The principal incidents of a seignory were an oath of fealty; a "quit" or "chief" rent; a "relief" of one year's quit rent, and the right of escheat.

Hitherto life-owners of land, holding as subtenants, had possessed large powers of alienating it, to the detriment of their superior lords, who would otherwise have recovered it, when their vassals died heirless, as an escheat.

Besides escheat for defect of heirs, there was formerly also escheat propter delictum tenentis, or by the corruption of the blood of the tenant through attainder consequent on conviction and sentence for treason or felony.

Escheat is also an incident of copyhold tenure.