Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

jesse4788 t1_j7cd2j6 wrote

Reply to comment by Sunnyjim333 in Lead Plates and Land Claims in North America and Europe: When did the practice begin of burying lead plates to establish ownership of land, and why did it die out, and was it ever used successfully in a court of law to establish ownership? by whyenn

My dad found one in our yard (Picton, Ontario) years ago with "dieu et Mon droit" on it.

50

CommentContrarian t1_j7cnpzy wrote

Despite the French language, that's England. Kinda cool to find that

18

Realworld t1_j7csk6m wrote

It's the motto of the monarch of the United Kingdom and appears on Royal coat of arms of UK outside Scotland.

21

BeatlesTypeBeat t1_j7d1k2e wrote

How did that come to be?

10

Pippin1505 t1_j7d3v90 wrote

Oversimplifying a lot : Because kings of England were related to the kings of France and saw themselves as the rightful kings of France (see the 100 Years War) hence "mon droit"

other exemple : Richard the Lionheart, king of England, only spoke French and spent most of his time in his French estates or crusading

31

CommentContrarian t1_j7d3529 wrote

William Plantagenet--a French noble--took the British crown in 1066. The British royal court spoke French for hundreds of years afterwards.

13

whyenn OP t1_j7cnqzj wrote

I read the wiki on the U.S. Public Land Survey system in response to u/duncan345's comment, and apparently moving (or removing) property markers is still techincally a Federal offense in the U.S. (of which Picton, Ontario is admittedly not a part.) But if that isn't still being used as such, that might be of interest to someone somewhere.

Do you remember the dimensions of it?

14

machospaghetti93 t1_j7dit6a wrote

I work for a land survey firm in Ontario. It is also a federal offense in Canada.

The Criminal Code of Canada R.S. 1985, c. C-46 under Part XI, Sec. 442 and 443 states, "Every one who wilfully pulls down, defaces, alters or removes anything planted or set up as the boundary line or part of the boundary line of land is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction."

6

jesse4788 t1_j7xmc78 wrote

It's been quite a while since I've seen it, but I would guess it was 3-4 inches in diameter, maybe half an inch thick.

1