Turf and Twig

[palani]

aka livery of seisin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livery_of_seisin
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Swanson6617.jpg/300px-Swanson6617.jpg

The turf and twig ceremony dates from the feudal era, but was used regularly in early colonial America, allowing the English to take sovereign possession over unclaimed lands. The process has taken several forms over the centuries. Bernulf Hodge in A History of Malmesbury describes the process, discontinued in the late 17th century, as follows:[1]

"The lucky new Commoner goes to his "given" acre and cuts a turf from the selected site and drops two shillings in the hole made. The High Steward then twitches him with a twig and sticks the twig in the turf, then hands it to him saying, "This turf and twig I give to thee, as free as Athelstan gave to me, and I hope a loving brother thou wilt be." The High Steward then takes the money out of the hole and the new landowner replaces the turf."

[Glass]

so I wonder if giving the key to the city derives from that.

It will be interesting to see what ritual they perform on the land under the drawn boundaries of the State of Western Australia, once the original people hand it over for $1,300,000,000.00 pretend australian monies. I expect it would be something like this.

[palani]

I had heard this story in a different form. The Saxon's in this other story were the remnants of Alexanders' army after he died. Soil was offered for gold armament and the deal was sealed. As in this piece the exchange of gold (portable soil) for soil (livery of seizin ... turf and twig) resulted in a war in which the warriors won.


Legend

According to Widukind of Corvey, a Saxon in Thuringia was approached by a local who asked to buy the Saxon's torc and bracelets. The local offered him a pile of dirt in exchange for the ornaments, which the Saxon eagerly accepted. The Thuringians thought they had made a good deal until the Saxons claimed the entire country on the basis that the dirt had been a livery of seisin, and made their legal claim good by force of arms.

[palani]

so I wonder if giving the key to the city derives from that.

It will be interesting to see what ritual they perform on the land under the drawn boundaries of the State of Western Australia, once the original people hand it over for $1,300,000,000.00 pretend australian monies.

Here is a hint. Nothing is every purchased with an IOU. If the aborigines abandon any claim based upon cheap beads and wampum contracts then the land is essentially abandoned by people who believe in substance.

Essential to any land transfer is perambulation. Which politician is going to walk around western Australia to represent the people he claims to represent? Again ... without livery or perambulation there is a LOT of abandoned land there.