blench ferme

or ‘blench holding’.  One of the four conditions, or tenures, in Scots law on which lands could be granted; in this case, the lands were held for nominal payment, usually a ‘penny money’ or a peppercorn or a rose, which was only to be paid if it was asked for (“si tamen petatur” in Latin). This type of holdings was most common when lands had been bought by someone; the seller would be (in theory) the granter of the lands, but in practice would have not further rights in them. If the buyer held the lands from the seller alone, and not from the superior also, he would have a base right.