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How was land transferred before deeds became the usual method?

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King Henry II and St. Thomas Becket — Common law Henry II (left) disputing with Thomas Becket (center), miniature from a 14th-century manuscript; in the British Library (Cotton MS. Claudius D.ii).

Before the use of written deeds became the standard method for transferring property, land was conveyed through a formal ritual known as feoffment.12

This process involved the delivery of possession, referred to as livery of seisin, which took place directly on the site of the land being transferred. During this ceremony, the grantor (feoffor) would deliver possession to the recipient (feoffee) in the presence of witnesses to provide public notice of the transaction. While written conveyances were often used as a customary practice to document these transfers, they did not become mandatory in English law until 1677.1

This ritualistic approach was central to the feudal land system, where the public nature of the ceremony helped establish and verify the transfer of rights in an era when land was the primary form of wealth.2