Land was transferred between generations on the death of the deceased tenants according to the rules of inheritance discussed in the Introduction. This chapter is not concerned with who it was who inherited, by what title, or what it was that they inherited. It also specifically excludes the inheritance of moveable goods (chattels) that were bequeathed by will. Actually the process of succession was less tidy and immediate than the opening statement suggests. This was because the deceased tenant generally left behind a spouse, a widow or widower, who had to be supported from portions of the estate. The legitimate expectations of the heir(s) were therefore delayed.

Such complications stemmed from marriage, which was virtually universal in late medieval England. Marriage was ordained by God for the procreation of children – legitimate children – and the avoidance of such sins as fornication (sex outside wedlock), adultery (sex with other people's spouses), and incest (sex with relatives within the prohibited degrees). Outside the clergy virtually everyone married at least once. Almost all weddings were arranged, amongst the aristocracy as well as the peasantry, by parents, by elder brothers, by guardians in the case of wards, or by the couple themselves. Often these were child matches. The selection of partner was a hard-headed business that gave great weight to the finances, connections, and political interests of the contracting partners. Most matches were struck with social equals within their social circles, people whom they knew, did not dislike, liked, even occasionally loved.