other war, or business adventure, as they were not present in the kingdom to be enforced to perform. Since the feudal oath was to the person, and not the land, there could be no lien against the land. A hallmark of medieval feudalism was the person-to-person oath of allegiance. Feudal incidents could not be enforced upon the beneficiaries, since these were not the owners of the land. The users had not sworn an oath to the lord. Therefore, they owed the lord nothing. They lacked the estate until the trust ended, if entitled to its residue. They had no seisin, nor trespassed, and therefore, ejectment could not be effected. These required possession. Assumpsit was of no avail. In 1402, the Commons had petitioned the king for a remedy against dishonest feoffees to uses, apparently with no result. A trust became a novel kind of property and property use. Henry VII Concerted efforts were made under King Henry VII to reform . A change in the laws made feoffees the absolute owners of the property of which they had been enfeoffed, and they became subject to all the liabilities of ownership. They were the only ones who could take proceedings against those who interfered with their ownership. If a trespass had been committed with the license of the they could take proceedings against him, for he was at law only a tenant at sufferance. Similarly, feoffees were the only ones who could take the proceedings against tenants of the land to compel them to perform their obligations. If a debt was brought for rent by a , and the defendant pleaded , the plaintiff would have lost his action if he had not made a special replication setting out the facts. The purpose of these changes was to make in general, and trusts more cumbersome and economically unattractive. Henry VIII Henry VIII sought to end all and regain the incidents (fees and payments) that had been deprived him. Thomas Cromwell and Audley, who succeeded Thomas More, vigorously crushed in the courts, persuading judges to declare them illegal or void. By 1538–39, over 800 religious land holdings had been returned to the Crown. Many of these were subsequently sold, converted to private dwellings, given to loyal supporters of the English Reformation, dismantled for building materials, or abandoned and allowed to degenerate into ruins. Claims of religious corruption were frequently used to justify