Infangthief and outfangthief[n 1] were privileges granted to feudal lords (and various corporate bodies such as abbeys and cities) under Anglo-Saxon law by the kings of England.
[1] The terms are frequently attested in royal writs and charters using formulas such as "sake and soke, toll and team, and infangthief", which specified the usual rights accompanying grants of land.
"thief seized without") is a more problematic term, as it is unattested prior to a forged charter included in the 3rd edition of William of Malmesbury's Deeds of the English Kings (c. 1135).
[1] They remained in use after the Norman Conquest as a standard right given to local lords and did not finally fall into disuse until the time of Edward III.
[7] According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in 963 AD King Edgar granted a charter to Bishop Æthelwold for the minster of Medeshamstede (afterwards Peterborough) and attached villages.