21.—(IV.)

Wardship.—The above payments were only due if the heir was of full age. If the heir was under the age of 21 being a male, or 14 being a female, the lord was entitled to the wardship of the heir, which consisted in having the custody of the body and lands of such heir, without being accountable for the profits, till the age of 21 in males, and 16 in females ^t. When the male heir attained the age of 21, and the female that of 16, they might sue out their livery or ousterlemain (the delivery up of their lands out of the hand of their guardian), for which they were obliged to pay half a year's profits of the land by way of fine ^u. An idea may be formed of the value of this branch of revenue, from the magnitude of the sums which the king received for the wardship of a rich heir when he sold it. Thus Simon de Montfort paid Henry III. 10,000 marks, an immense sum at that time, for the wardship and marriage of Gilbert de Umfreville ^v. For the purpose of ascertaining and levying this branch of revenue, writs were directed to the escheators of each county or district, requiring them to make inquisition by a jury of the county (commonly called an inquisitio post mortem). This inquisition was instituted upon the death of every man possessed of an estate in land, to inquire into the value of his estate, the tenure by which it was held, and who, and of what age, his heir was, thereby to ascertain the value of the relief and primer seisin, or the wardship and livery accruing to the king ^w. By the statute 32 H. VIII. c. 46 page 187 a court of wards was established, to which the jurisdiction of the liveries was annexed by the statute 33 H. VIII. c. 22, and then it took the style of the Court of Wards and Liveries ^x.