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National Trust
National Trust British association to preserve for the nation places of natural beauty or buildings of architectural or historic interest in the British Isles; founded 1894, chartered 1895. By act of Parliament (1907) the Trust was empowered to acquire land inalienably and to be exempt from duties ...
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embezzlement
embezzlement wrongful use, for one's own selfish ends, of the property of another when that property has been legally entrusted to one. Such an act was not larceny at common law because larceny was committed only when property was acquired by a "felonious taking," i.e., when the act was commi...
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title
title in law, the means by which the owner has just and legal possession of his or her property. It is distinct from the document (e.g., a deed) that is evidence of the title. Title can be lost or acquired only by the methods established by law, that is, by inheritance or by purchase. Several perso...
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eminent domain
eminent domain the right of a government to force the owner of private property sell it if it is needed for a public use. The right is based on the doctrine that a sovereign state has dominion over all lands and buildings within its borders, which has its origins in the landholding system under fe...
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chattel
chattel , in law, any property other than a freehold estate in land (see tenure ). A chattel is treated as personal property rather than real property regardless of whether it is movable or immovable (see property ). Certain uses of the term (e.g., chattel mortgage) refer only to movable property....
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mortmain
mortmain [Fr.,=dead hand], ownership of land by a perpetual corporation . The term originally denoted tenure (see tenure , in law) by a religious corporation, but today it includes ownership by charitable and business corporations. In the Middle Ages the church acquired, by purchase and gift, an ...
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extortion
extortion in law, unlawful demanding or receiving by an officer, in his official capacity, of any property or money not legally due to him. Examples include requesting and accepting fees in excess of those allowed to him by statute or arresting a person and, with corrupt motives, demanding money or...
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Margaret Brent
Margaret Brent 1600?-1671?, early American feminist, b. Gloucester, England. With her two brothers and a sister, she left England to settle (1638) in St. Marys City, Md., where she acquired an extensive estate; she was the first woman in Maryland to hold land in her own right. Under the will of Gov...
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coup
coup [Fr.,=blow], among Native North Americans of the Plains culture, a war honor, awarded for striking an enemy in such a way that it was considered an extreme act of bravery. Generally, coups were awarded according to the degree of difficulty and danger involved; the most extreme, such as strikin...
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Paston Letters
Paston Letters collection of personal and business correspondence, mostly among members of the Paston family of Norfolk, England. The letters cover the years from 1422 to 1529, together with deeds and other documents. The family was at that time actively acquiring land and properties in the area, s...
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