Mortmain

The term of mortmain (sometimes mortemain ) applies to:

of the natural persons: the serfs (people of mortmain)
of the tangible properties (goods of mortmain)

The mortmain is the Incapacité whose the serfs in France with the Moyen-âge are struck. Its objective was to prevent that the goods pass to people external with the Seigneurie: during his life, the serf enjoyed his personal goods freely; he could have sound Manse with the permission of his lord but he was private faculty to make his will and, to its death, its goods returned to its lord according to the principle: " the died serf, seizes sharp its lord ".

As of the 12th century, the mortmain became lighter. In many areas, the lord took one movable object or only one head of cattle (right of the Meilleur catel) or it accepted the payment of a particular tax by the Héritier S.

As of the 17th century, it had practically disappeared. It was officially abolished in 1779 by Louis XVI.

The goods of mortmain were the goods had by congregations or hospitals: their owner having an indefinite existence, they escape the rules from the changes by death. In compensation, they must regulate the rights of damping for the king, the allowance seigneuriale , the right of Man living and dying, the Right of new acquisition.

To avoid the proliferation of the goods of mortmain, therefore a reduction in the death taxes, many royal decrees specify that the creation of such communities, and acquisition by them of goods can be done only after investigation and approval of king (1629, 1659,1666,1738 for the Flanders and Hainaut, 1739 for Metz and especially 1749 for all the kingdom). Only acquisitions escaped from it from loans emitted by the king, the cities or the provincial States.

Sources

According to Quillet Dictionary of the French language in 3 vol.
the dictionary of Universal History, Small Mourre

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