I saw a question about land holding and succession in Saxon England and you stated that hereditary succession was better than free for all. It is my understanding that it was a little more complicated than that. Some land was outright owned and passed down within a family, but some estates where owned by the crown and were distributed by the crown as either gifts that could become permanent or as holdings that could be given or taken at anytime by the crown depending on the whim of the crown or the standing of the noble that held it. Even the throne was not strictly hereditary, although the old kings son usually got the job the witan could over ride that choice  and choose another candidate if the king’s son was deemed unfit.

Bryan