Socage
Socage was one of the feudal duties and hence land tenure forms in the feudal system. A farmer, for example, held the land in exchange for a clearly defined, fixed payment to be made at specified intervals to his feudal lord, who in turn had his own feudal obligations, to the farmer and to the Crown. In theory this might involve supplying the lord with produce but most usually it meant a straightforward payment of cash, i.e., rent.
It contrasted with other forms of tenure including serjeanty and frankalmoin. For those higher in the feudal hierarchy, there was also knight-service as a condition of land tenure.
The English statute Quia Emptores of Edward I established that socage tenure passed from one generation to the next subject to inquisitions post mortem which would mean a one-off tax. This contrasts with leases which could be for a person's lifetime or readily subject to forfeiture and rent increases. As feudalism declined, the prevalence of socage tenure increased until either it became the normal form of head tenure in the Kingdom of England. In 1660, the Statute of Tenures ended estates requiring the owner to provide military service and most freehold tenures were converted into "free and common socage".
The holder of a soc or socage tenure was referred to as a socager or socman. In German-speaking Europe, the broad equivalent was a Dienstmann. The etymology of socage according to William Blackstone is the old Latin word for a plough.
