A fee tail is a form of tenure emerging from the feudal principle of 'maritagium', formalised by the Statute De Donis Conditionalibus in 1285. Unlike a fee simple, which allows the holder to sell or bequeath land at will, a fee tail restricts the inheritance to the 'heirs of the body' of the original grantee. This legal mechanism was essential for the preservation of noble houses, ensuring that dynastic seats and the associated wealth remained intact across generations rather than being fragmented through dowries, sales, or diverse legacies. In the eyes of the Garter King of Arms, the entail often operated in tandem with the arms and title, maintaining the territorial integrity necessary to support the dignity of a peerage.
The estate could be further restricted, such as 'tail male' (limited to male issue) or 'tail special' (limited to children of a specific wife). If the specified line of descent expired, the land would revert to the original grantor or their heirs—a process known as reversion. Over centuries, legal fictions such as 'common recovery' and 'fines' were developed by ambitious heirs to 'break the entail' and convert the land back into fee simple, leading to a perpetual struggle between the desire for dynastic permanence and the economic necessity of land liquidity.