Vbbe in the hond, wit a fayr staf.
So in Sir Tristrem:
Rohant he yaf the wand,
And bad him sitte him bi,
That fre;
‘Rohant lord mak y
To held this lond of me.’
—fytte i. st. 83; p. 52.
The editor is clearly mistaken in explaining the wand to be a truncheon, or symbol of power. For the custom of giving seisin or investiture per fustim, and per baculum, see Madox’s Formul. Anglican. pref. p. ix. and Spelman, Gloss. in v. Investire, and Traditio. The same usage existed in France, par rain et par baton.