merchet
Britishnoun
Etymology
Origin of merchet
C13: from Anglo-French, literally: market
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If, on the one hand, not all the serfs paid merchet, on155 the other there is sufficient evidence to show that it was paid in some cases by free people.
From Villainage in England Essays in English Mediaeval History by Paul Vinogradoff
The holder pays with the villains; he pays merchet and joins in the boon-work as the villains.
From Villainage in England Essays in English Mediaeval History by Paul Vinogradoff
They pay merchet; if any of them dies without making his will the whole of his moveable property falls to the lord.
From Villainage in England Essays in English Mediaeval History by Paul Vinogradoff
The earliest charter, dated 1179 or 1180, is a grant of exemption from toll merchet and heriot made by Bishop Hugh Pudsey and confirmed by Pope Alexander.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 8 "Dubner" to "Dyeing" by Various
The difference between villein and free man lessened but landlords usually still had profits of villein bondage, such as heriot, merchet, and chevage.
From Our Legal Heritage by S. A. Reilly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
