gavelkind

American  

[gav-uhl-kahynd] / ˈgæv əlˌkaɪnd /

noun

English Law.

1. (originally) a tenure of land in which the tenant was liable for a rental in money or produce rather than for labor or military service.

2. a customary system of land tenure whose chief feature was equal division of land among the heirs of the holder.

3. the land so held.

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gavelkind British  

/ ˈɡævəlˌkaɪnd /

noun

1. a former system of land tenure peculiar to Kent based on the payment of rent to the lord instead of the performance of services by the tenant

2. the land subject to such tenure

3. English law (formerly) land held under this system

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Etymology

Origin of gavelkind

1175–1225; Middle English gavelkinde, gavlikind, Old English gafel gavel ² + ( ge ) cynd kind ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gavelkind

The gavelkind or tributary tenure there was subjected to equal partition among the heirs.

From Villainage in England Essays in English Mediaeval History by Paul Vinogradoff

This rule did not apply to lands held in gavelkind in the county of Kent.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 "Foraminifera" to "Fox, Edward" by Various

For similar reasons he was opposed to entails, and favored the application of the just and equal law of gavelkind to the division of intestate estates.

From Benjamin Franklin; Self-Revealed, Volume II (of 2) A Biographical and Critical Study Based Mainly on his own Writings by Wiliam Cabell Bruce

Land tenure, tribal, 6; primogeniture, 11, 12; gavelkind, 11, 12; in the 18th century, 65, 66.

From Is Ulster Right? by Anonymous

In the Saxon times, land was divided equally among all the male children of the deceased, according to the custom of gavelkind.

From The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part A. From the Britons of Early Times to King John by David Hume