A Study On The Content And Historical Significance Of The Statute Of Wills 1540

The Statute of Wills 1540 is an important legal document in the period of social transformation in England.The 16^th century is an important period for England to transform into a modern society.Politically,Feudalism is declining and the new social system has not yet been established.England is in a stage of social transformation;Economically,rising prices,the redistribution of land after the Reformation,the rise of enclosure movement,and Henry VIII’s successive years of foreign struggles.These all objectively promoted the promulgation of the Statute of Wills 1540.Therefore,it is particularly necessary to study the Statutes of Wills 1540.As two important acts of land legal system reform in England in the 1530s century,the Statutes of Wills 1540 and the Statutes for the Explanation of the Statute of Wills1542-1543,on the one hand,can reflect the socio-political and economic situation reflected among land,law and society,and on the other hand,will have a significant impact on the social transformation of England.The Statutes of Wills 1540established that land could be devised,which enriched the content of common law,to a certain extent impacted the England inheritance system,accelerated the disintegration of feudal land tenure system,and objectively promoted the modernization process of England.Therefore,the study of the Statute of Wills 1540 is particularly necessary.This paper attempts to make a systematic study of the Statute of Wills 1540.The full text is divided into three parts:introduction,main body and conclusion.The introduction mainly introduces the reason of the topic selection,the definition of related concepts,the research status at home and abroad and the theories and methods used in the research.The main body of the paper is mainly divided into three chapters.The first chapter first elaborates the historical conditions for the promulgation of the Statutes of Wills1540.The historical reasons for the promulgation of this Statute are very complicated.The fundamental reason lies in the feudal land tenure system,while the direct reason is the promulgation of the Statute of Uses 1535.In addition,there are indirect factors such as the political economy of England in the 16^th century.The second chapter interprets the contents of the Statute of Wills 1540 to further reflect the respective rights of the king and the real estate owner under the feudal land tenure system.Under the feudal land tenure system,as far as vassals are concerned,they have obtained the free devise,which is a new right.As far as the king is concerned,he has safeguarded the feudal incidents,which are his inherent rights since the establishment of the feudal tenure system.In addition,this law is compared with the later Statute for the Explanation of the Statute of Wills 1542-1543,to explore the similarities and differences of the reasons and contents of their promulgation.The third chapter,based on the interpretation of the law,discusses the profound historical impact of the law on common law,land inheritance,land market,feudal tenure system and even feudalism.The conclusion part mainly makes a brief summary of the full text and further points out the academic growth point contained in the article.