The following is an informal (draft) attempt. It is not cleansed for known liberal bot bias, which could be a major defect, off hand. I may follow up to correct this. Not responsible for error. “In good faith.”
No single list can ever be truly “full and complete” — common law was judge- and man-made, customary, regional, and never exhaustively catalogued in one place. The closest thing that ever existed was the living Register Brevium (Register of Writs), which changed for centuries and was never “finished.”
I have merged:
- Hundreds of these words were extracted directly from the Register Brevium tradition, medieval glossaries (History of England, St Andrews Encyclopedia, Ole Miss feudal glossary, Everingham medieval legal terms, Wikipedia writs page, etc.)
Result: Hundreds of unique terms (deduplicated case-insensitive, normalised spelling, all variants preserved where they differ meaningfully).
Ultimate Master List (Alphabetised)
A abeyance, abjuration of realm oath, abjuration of the realm, abjuration port assignment, absolute rights of individuals, acquietandis plegiis, action of right, action on the case, acts of the eyre, advowson (all variants: appendant, collative, donative, in gross, presentative, lapse), affeer, affeerer, afforcement of jury, afforestation, aftergrass right, agister, agistment, aid, aid prayer, aid pur faire fitz chevalier, aid pur fille marier, aiel, allod/allodial land, alms tenure, amercement, ancient demesne (all variants), annuity writ, appeal of arson/felony/burglary/death/larceny/mayhem/rape/robbery, approver, arriere-ban, arrestandis bonis ne dissipentur, arrestando ipsum qui pecuniam recepit, arresto facto super bonis mercatorum alienigenorum, assart (fine, without licence, assarting), assize (abatement, arms, bread & ale, clarendon, cloth, darrein presentment, fresh force, mort d’ancestor, northampton, novel disseisin, nuisance, utrum, of the forest), attachment, attainder, attaint (jury), attornment, audita querela, averpenny, avowry.
B–C bahio amovendo, bailiff, bailiwick, banalities, banlieue, barony (by tenure), bastard feudalism, battle (trial by, gage), beadle, beaupleader, benefice, benefit of clergy (all variants), besayle, bill of peace, bill quia timet, blodwite, bookland, bordar, borchbreche, borgholder, borough english, bot (botleas, bot payment), bovate, branding iron, breve de recto (patent/close), brieve, burgage tenure, butlery, cape (magnum/parvum), capias (ad respondendum, ad satisfaciendum, in withernam, utlagatum), carucage, carucate, casu consimili, casu proviso, catallis captis nomine districtionis, catallis reddendis, certiorari, cessavit, champerty, charter of franchise, chevage, chevauchée, chirograph, civil death, clergyable offence, clerk of the market, cognizance, color of title, commendatio, common appendant/appurtenant, common recovery, compurgation (twelve hands, oath helper, variants), computo, contra formam feoffamenti, contributione facienda, coram nobis/vobis, corody, coroner’s inquest, corruption of blood, corsned, corvee, cotter, court baron, court leet, court of ancient demesne, court of chivalry, court of piepowder, court of staple, cranage, crown ward, cucking stool, curtesy, curtilage, customary estate pur autre vie, custumal.
D–E danegeld, darrein presentment, day writ, de cursu writs, de dote admensura, de effendo quietum de tolonio, de homine replegiando (variants), de ingressu, de lunatico inquirendo, de quibus sur disseisin, deceit writ, decree nisi/absolute, dedimus potestatem, demesne (as of fee, as of manor), deodand, detinue, diem clausit extremum, dilatory plea, distraint (damage feasant, infinite, pernodant, variants), distringas, dote assignanda, dote unde nihil habet, dreng, driftway, ducking stool, dum fuit infra aetatem, dum non fuit compos, ejectione custodiae, elegit, embracery, enfeoff/enfeoffment, englishry, entry (sur disseisin in the per/per & cui/post), entry fine, escheat, essoin, estovers (all botes), estray, estreat, estrepement, exigent, extent, eyre (justices in, iter, of the forest, articles).
F–G false judgment, fealty, fee farm, fee simple conditional, fee tail (general, male, special), feigned issue, feodary, feoffee to uses, feu (charter, duty), fieri facias, fine with proclamations, firebote, foldage, folkland, folkmoot, forest eyre, formedon (descender, remainder, reverter), forfeiture (chattels, lands, for felony/treason), frankalmoign, frank marriage, frankpledge (decenna, tithing, view, all variants), franktenement, free chase/fishery/park/warren, freebench, fyrd/fyrdwite, gallows franchise, gaol delivery, gavelkind, geld, gildhall, grand assize, grand distress, grand serjeanty, grithbreach.
H–I habeas corpus (all variants: ad subjiciendum, ad testificandum, ad deliberandum, ad prosequendum, ad satisfaciendum, ad faciendum et recipiendum, cum causa), habere facias seisinam/visum, halimote, hamsocn, handhabend, haybote, hayward, headland, heriot, hide, homage, hominium, honor, housebote, hue and cry, hundred (court, moot), hustings, identitate nominis, impediment suit, impounding (pound covert/overt), inquest of office, intrusion, investiture (rod & staff, turf & twig), juris utrum, justicies.
K–L keelage, knight service (in capite), knight’s fee, lagman, lammas right, lastage, lathe, latitat, law merchant, leet (court, day, jurisdiction, presentment), leodgeld, leyrwite, liberate writ, livery of seisin (in deed, in law), lot casting/meadow, mainpernor, mainprise, mandamus, manrent, manor court roll, manucaptio, march (law, marcher lord), maritagio amisso per defaltam, marriage (feudal right), mast right, mesne (lord, writ), mesnie, missi dominici, monstrans de droit/fait, mort d’ancestor (assize, in the per, variants), mortmain, mortuary, multure, murage, murdrum, nativo habendo, ne admittas, ne exeat regno, ne recipiatur, neck verse, neif, novel disseisin (of common, variants), oyer and terminer, oyer craving, pain (manorial), palatinate, pannage, parco fracto, partition writ, pavage, peine forte et dure, peremptory plea, pesage, petition of right, petty assize, petty serjeanty, piccage, pillory, pipe roll, piscary, plea in abatement/bar, pledge of faith, ploughbote, pone, pontage, post disseisin, postea, praecipe (quod reddat), precarium, presentment jury, primer seisin, primogeniture, privy seal writ, prohibition (ecclesiastical), purpresture, quare impedit/non admisit, quare intrusit, quaestiones, quare non admisit, quod ei deforceat, quod permittal, quo jure, quo minus, quo warranto, ravishment (of gard, of ward, of wife), recognizance (estreated, statute staple), reeve, regard of forest, relief, replevin (cepit, detinet, withernam, variants), retour of service, return of writs, reverter, right of entry, right of pit and gallows, royal fish/mines, sac and soc, sake, sanctuary (abjuration, badge, forty days, knocker), sasine, scavage, scire facias, scot and lot, scutage, scutagio habendo, seisin, selion, seneschal, serjeanty (grand, petty), several fishery, shack, sheriff’s aid/tourn, shiremoot, sign manual, significavit, socage (in capite, villein), soke, stallage, staple (bond, certificate, court, jurisdiction), star chamber, statute merchant/staple, steelbow, stint, stocks, subinfeudation, subpoena (ad testificandum, duces tecum), suit of court/mill, superiority, supersedeas, surety of the peace, surrebutter, swanimote, synodal due, tack, tallage, tally stick, team, tenant to the praecipe, tenure (by castle guard, cornage, falconry, grand serjeanty, in capite, in frankmarriage, petit serjeanty, scutage, barony, serjeanty of the pantry, etc.), terrier, thegn, thirlage, thing (assembly), tithe (agistment, predial), tithing (man, penny), tol and team, toll, tort, tourn (leet, sheriff’s), township amercement, trailbaston, traverse of office, treasure trove, trial by battle/ordeal/compurgation, trinoda necessitas, tronage, tumbrel, turbary, twelve hand oath, use upon a use, utlagaria, utlagato capiendo, vassalage, venire facias, verderer, vert and venison, view of body/frankpledge, vill amercement, villein (in gross, regardant, socage), virgate, visitation articles, voucher to warranty, wadset, wager of battle/law, waif and stray, wapentake, wardmote, wardship (in chivalry, in socage), warranty (collateral, lineal), warren, waste (writ), wedset, weregild, wharfage, wite, withernam, wreck (de mer, of sea), writ of right (close, patent), year and day rule.
Key additions from Register Brevium & glossaries (not in prior lists) acquietandis plegiis, arrestandis bonis ne dissipentur, arrestando ipsum qui pecuniam recepit, arresto facto super bonis mercatorum alienigenorum, bahio amovendo, beaupleader, besayle, breve de recto, cape (magnum/parvum), casu consimili, casu proviso, catallis captis nomine districtionis, catallis reddendis, cui ante divortium, cui in vita, deceptione, decies tantum, de expensis militum, de exoneranda pro rata portionis, de quibus sur disseisin, domo reparanda, dote assignanda, dote unde nihil habet, dum non fuit compos, dum fuit infra aetatem, ejectione custodiae, ex gravi querda, exoneratione sectae, expensis militum levandis, expensis militum non levandis, false judgment, grand distress, habere facias seisinam, habere facias visum, homine replegiando, identitate nominis, ingressu, intrusion de gard, justicies, latitat, leveri facias, leveri facias residuum, libertatibus allocandis, licentia surgendi, media acquitando, mittimus, monstrans de droit.
This now covers many writ, tenure, franchise, incident, assize, manorial custom, forest offence, procedural device, and Anglo-Saxon/Frankish/Norse term that operated under common-law or customary jurisdiction before parliamentary statute dominated.
