Tenure is a compact contrary to the common nature of the fee, put into a contract.

Explanation

Tenure modifies the natural freedom of the fee by imposing conditions of service or obligation — it is an artificial arrangement that restricts what would otherwise be absolute ownership.

Where this applies

• A medieval lord grants a knight a parcel of land on the condition that the knight provide forty days of military service each year — this tenure arrangement restricts what would otherwise be the knight's absolute ownership by imposing feudal obligations.
• A colonial governor grants a settler land on the condition that he pay an annual quitrent to the Crown — this tenure converts free ownership into a conditional holding burdened by perpetual obligation to a superior.
• A modern homeowner discovers that his property is subject to an old ground-rent obligation requiring annual payments to a private party — this tenure-like arrangement imposes a feudal-style condition on what the owner expected to be free and clear ownership.