Gavelkind definition

găvəl-kīnd
An English system of land tenure dating from Anglo-Saxon times and continuing in Kent until 1926, in which land was divided equally among all qualified heirs.
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(historical) In Great Britain, a system of land tenure by which:
  • The property of a man dying intestate was divided equally among his sons.
  • The tenant could dispose of his land by feoffment at the age of fifteen.
  • The land did not escheat upon the conviction of the tenant as a felon.
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(historical) A system of inheritance associated with the county of Kent in England whereby, at the death of a tenant, intestate estate is divided equally among all his sons; also, a similar system employed in Ireland.
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Origin of gavelkind

  • Middle English gavelkinde Old English gafol gavel gavel2 Old English gecynd kind kind2

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Gavelkind Sentence Examples

  • The old Welsh land tenure by gavelkind was, however, still permitted to remain in force amongst the natives of all Wales, whilst it was henceforth arranged to administer justice in the eight counties by special royal judges, and in the Marches by the officers appointed by the various lords-marchers according to the terms of their tenure.

  • At the same time all ancient Welsh laws and customs, which were at variance with the recognized law of England, were now declared illegal, and Cymric land tenure by gavelkind, which had been respected by Edward I., was expressly abolished and its place taken by the ordinary practice of primogeniture.

  • The portions of the tribe-land were not occupied for a fixed term, as the land of the sept was liable to gavelkind or redistribution from time to time.

  • Two legal decisions swept away the customs of tanistry and of Irish gavelkind, and the English land system was violently [From Anglo-Norman Invasion] substituted.

  • Among Catholic children land went in compulsory gavelkind.

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