abolished and remained the -legal-technical-basis of property law. The same applies to countries which derive their property law system from English law, such as Ireland The feudal system came to England from Normandy as a result of the norman Conquest after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It was, both on the continent of Europe and in England, not only a legal system; it was first of all a political and social framework. b The feudal system created a bond between the king and a tenant-in-chief, between the latter and a mesne lord or between a mesne lord and a vassal. Rights to land were granted in return for services. Gradually, the feudal system developed into a system of land law. 7 In English law, the historical roots of property law can be seen in the continued use of the concepts'tenure and'estate'. Land is held(not owned'in the civil law sense) and the tenant is entitled to an estate. Various types of estates can be distinguished, but an essential characteristic of each estate is time. The two major types are the freehold (unlimited duration) and the leasehold (limited duration). Under English law this system of landholding became even more complex and intricate because of the development of a duplex ordo: common law and equity. It made thinking about property rights even less absolute than it already was and it also created an atmosphere in which legal thinking could be infused with economic notions. 8 If A holds common law estate in land(e.g. A is a freeholder), but his spouse B spends money from which both A and B profit, B can be given equitable rights in the land: A then becomes trustee for himself and b as beneficiaries of a trust As I already mentioned above, on the continent of Europe the feudal system was abolished as a result of the French Revolution. Also fundamental human rights were formulated and it was the person of the citoyen(citizen) who became the focus of political and legal thinking. 9 The citoyen as a free and equal person, bound by the duties of J.C.W. Wylie and J. Kenny, Irish Land La(dublin: Butterworths, 1997), pp 8 ff. 6 Cf R.C. van Caenegem, An Historical Introduction to Private Law(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992),P. 20. See also the definition in Blacks Law Dictionary(St. Paul, Minn: West Publishing Co 1990)sub voce feudal system:.. A political and social system which prevailed throughout Europe during the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and is supposed to have grown out of the peculiar usages and policy of the Teutonic nations who overran the continent after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, as developed by the exigencies of their military domination, and possibly furthered by notions taken from the Roman jurisprudence... Cf the definition in David M. Walker, The Oxford Companion to Law(Oxford Europe as a system of administration, jurisdiction, miltary service, and land tenure ized over much of western Clarendon Press, 1980)sub voce "Feudalism Feudalism thus came to be recogn ∴. See also jh.m.van Erp, 'Via open normen naar Europees goederenrecht, in S.E. Bartels and J.M. Milo(eds ) Open normen in het goederenrecht(The Hague: Boom Juridische Uitgevers, 2000), pp. 61 ff, especially pp 67 ff See, e.g., A W.B. Simpson, A History ofthe Land Law(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986), pp. I ff,SH Goo, Sourcebook on Land La(London/Sydney: Cavendish Publishing, 2002), pp. I ff. see also J.-A MacKenzie and M. Philips, Textbook on Land Law(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), pp. 3 ff 8 It is, therefore, no coincidence that the econom ic analysis of the law was developed and first applied by American and English lawyers. It will also come as no surprise that law and econom ics scholars frequently conclude that the common law(almost by nature)inclines towards reaching efficient results. But this conclusion is also, at least partially, caused by the self-perception of the common la wyer. You recognise what you were trained to observe and were taught to regard as an important value The feudal concepts of " tenure'and'estate underwent a process of transformation and as a result have become formats at common lawand in equity that enable maximum economic use of land and buildings. Legal Law of Property(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), Pp 169/L. See F.H. Lawson and B.Rudden. The thinking and economic analysis show close links in this area of the la See, from a historians viewpoint, S Schama, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution ( London Penguin Books, 1989), pp. 428 ff. The ideology underly ing legal thinking during and after the Frenchabolished and remained the - legal-technical - basis of property law. The same applies to countries which derive their property law system from English law, such as Ireland.5 The feudal system came to England from Normandy as a result of the Norman Conquest after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It was, both on the continent of Europe and in England, not only a legal system; it was first of all a political and social framework.6 The feudal system created a bond between the king and a tenant-in-chief, between the latter and a mesne lord or between a mesne lord and a vassal. Rights to land were granted in return for services. Gradually, the feudal system developed into a system of land law.7 In English law, the historical roots of property law can be seen in the continued use of the concepts ‘ tenure’ and ‘estate’. Land is ‘held’ (not ‘owned’ in the civil law sense) and the tenant is entitled to an ‘estate’. Various types of estates can be distinguished, but an essential characteristic of each estate is time. The two major types are the freehold (unlimited duration) and the leasehold (limited duration). Under English law this system of landholding became even more complex and intricate because of the development of a duplex ordo: common law and equity. It made thinking about property rights even less absolute than it already was and it also created an atmosphere in which legal thinking could be infused with economic notions.8 If A holds a common law estate in land (e.g. A is a freeholder), but his spouse B spends money from which both A and B profit, B can be given equitable rights in the land: A then becomes trustee for himself and B as beneficiaries of a trust. As I already mentioned above, on the continent of Europe the feudal system was abolished as a result of the French Revolution. Also, fundamental human rights were formulated and it was the person of the citoyen (citizen) who became the focus of political and legal thinking.9 The citoyen as a free and equal person, bound by the duties of 5 J.C.W. Wylie and J. Kenny, Irish Land Law (Dublin: Butterworths, 1997), pp. 8 ff. 6 Cf. R.C. van Caenegem, An Historical Introduction to Private Law (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), p. 20. See also the definition in Black’s Law Dictionary (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1990) sub voce ‘feudal system’: ‘. . . A political and social system which prevailed throughout Europe during the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and is supposed to have grown out of the peculiar usages and policy of the Teutonic nations who overran the continent after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, as developed by the exigencies of their military domination, and possibly furthered by notions taken from the Roman jurisprudence. . . .’. Cf. the definition in David M. Walker, The Oxford Companion to Law (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980) sub voce ‘Feudalism’: ‘. . . Feudalism thus came to be recognized over much of western Europe as a system of administration, jurisdiction, military service, and land tenure. . . .’. See also J.H.M. van Erp, ‘Via open normen naar Europees goederenrecht’, in S.E. Bartels and J.M. Milo (eds.), Open normen in het goederenrecht (The Hague: Boom Juridische Uitgevers, 2000), pp. 61 ff., especially pp. 67 ff. 7 See, e.g., A.W.B. Simpson, A History of the Land Law (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986), pp. 1 ff.; S.H. Goo, Sourcebook on Land Law (London/Sydney: Cavendish Publishing, 2002), pp. 1 ff.; see also J.-A. MacKenzie and M. Philips, Textbook on Land Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), pp. 3 ff. 8 It is, therefore, no coincidence that the economic analysis of the law was developed and first applied by American and English lawyers. It will also come as no surprise that law and economics scholars frequently conclude that the common law (almost by nature) inclines towards reaching efficient results. But this conclusion is also, at least partially, caused by the self-perception of the common lawyer. You recognise what you were trained to observe and were taught to regard as an important value. The feudal concepts of ‘tenure’ and ‘estate’ underwent a process of transformation and as a result have become formats at common law and in equity that enable maximum economic use of land and buildings. Legal thinking and economic analysis show close links in this area of the law. See F.H. Lawson and B. Rudden, The Law of Property (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), pp. 169 ff. 9 See, from a historian’s viewpoint, S. Schama, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution (London: Penguin Books, 1989), pp. 428 ff. The ideology underlying legal thinking during and after the French