HOLDING, the term in Scotch law used to denote the manner in which heritable estate is holden, corresponding to the English tenure (q.v.). All the laud in Scotland is presumed to be holden of the crown as the superior, and all persons who hold the lands are called vassals. The great proprietors are called crown-vassals; and the little proprietors, who generally hold under the crown-vassals, are called vassals., The chief holding is called feu-holding, which means that the vassal holds the land forever, sub ject to a feu-duty or annual payment in money or grain to the superior. Each vassal can carve out his land into smaller fees, and sell them to subvassals, to whom he stands in the relation of a superior, and so on to infinity. This is not a mere form, but enters into the substance of land transfers, and entails great expense on all landholders, because' each vassal must always have his title complete, which means lie must pay up the little clues and perquisites which constantly result oat of this feudal principle to his superior.
In England this practice of subinfeudation was put a stop to by 18 Edw. I., and now most of the land in England is held in freehold, which means that each owner is entire master of his land, and pays fees or perquisites to nobody, not even to the crown. Besides feu-holding in Scotland there is blench-holding, which means a holding where the payment is nominal. Formerly there were also ward-holding and mortification (q.v.), the latter being the holding by which churches and religious houses were held. There is also burgage-holding, applicable to lands within burghs (q.v.), and the transfer of burgage tenements has been lately put on a similar footing to other tenements.