Editing De donis conditionalibus (section)

== Background ==
A form of entail has been known before the Norman feudal law had been domesticated in England. The common form was a grant "to the [[feoffee]] and the heirs of his body", by which limitation it was sought to prevent alienation from the lineage of the first purchaser. These grants were also known as {{lang|la|feuda conditionata}}, because if the donee had no heirs of his body the estate reverted to the donor. This right of reversion was evaded by the interpretation that such a gift was a conditional fee, which enabled the donee, if he had an heir of the body born alive, to alienate the land, and consequently disinherit the issue and defeat the right of the donor. To remedy this the statute {{lang|la|De donis conditionalibus}} was passed.