English law, a court incident to every manor in the kingdom, to be holden by the steward within the said manor. This court-baron is of two natures: the one is a customary court, appertaining entirely to the copyholders, in which their estates are transferred by surrender and admittance, and other matters transacted relative to their tenures only. The other is a court of common law, and it is the court of the barons, by which name the freeholders were sometimes anciently called: for that it is held before the freeholders who owe suit and service to the manor, the steward being rather the registrar than the judge. These courts, though in their nature distinct, are equally confounded together. The court we are now considering, viz. the freeholder's court, was composed of the lord's tenants, who were the pares of each other, and were bound by their feudal tenure to assist their lord in the dispensation of domestic justice. This was formerly held every three weeks; and its most important business is to determine, by writ of right, all controversies relating to the right of lands within the manor. It may also hold plea of any personal actions, of debt, trespass on the case, or the like, where the debt or damages do not amount to 40s. Which is the same sum, or three marks, that bounded the jurisdiction of the ancient Gothic courts in their lowest instance, or furlong courts, so called because four were instituted within every superior district or hundred. But the proceedings on a writ of right may be removed into the county-court by a precept from the sheriff called a tolk, quia tollit atque eximit causam e curia baronum. And the proceedings in all other actions may be removed into the superior courts by the king's writs of ponse, or accedas ad curiam, according to the nature of the suit. After judgment given, a writ also of false judgment lies to the courts at Westminster to rehear and review the cause, and not a writ of error; for this is not a court of record: and therefore, in some of these writs of removal, the first direction given is to cause the plaint to be recorded, recordari facias loquelaem.

Court-Martial, a court appointed for the punishing offences in officers, soldiers, and sailors, the powers of which are regulated by the mutiny-bill.

For other courts, see Admiralty, Arches, Bench, County, COURTESY, or Curtesy, of England; a certain tenure whereby a man marrying an heiress seized of lands of fee simple, or fee-tail general, or seized as heir of the tail special, and getteth a child by her that cometh alive into the world, though both it and his wife die forthwith; yet, if she were in possession, he shall keep the land during his life, and is called tenant per legem Angliae, "or tenant by the courtefey of England;" because this privilege is not allowed in any country except Scotland, where it is called curialitas Scotiae.