The Common Law of Kent; or, the Customs of Gavelkind. With an Appendix, concerning Borough English.

ROBINSON, Thomas

Published by London: Printed by A. Strahan for H. Butterworth:, Third edition,, 1822

About this Item

8vo, xxxii, 421pp + 3pp ads, occasional scattered spotting, rebound in later buckram cloth gilt. A VG tightly bound copy. This authoritative volume provides a detailed examination of the unique customs and practices of the English county of Kent. The authors draw on a wide range of primary sources and legal precedents to provide a clear and accessible account of the history, law, and social traditions of the county. Gavelkind was a system of land tenure chiefly associated with the Celtic law in Ireland and Wales and with the legal traditions of the English county of Kent. It is a form of partible inheritance in which land descends equally to the decedent's sons. It was common during the Saxon era, but was gradually supplanted by primogeniture after 1066. Kent's inheritance pattern was a system of partible inheritance and bears a resemblance to Salic patrimony. As such, it may bear witness to a wider Germanic tradition that was probably ancient. Over the centuries, various acts were passed to disgavel individual manors, but the custom was only fully abolished in England and Wales by the Administration of Estates Act 1925.

Seller Inventory # 1059

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Common Law of Kent; or, the Customs of Gavelkind. With an Appendix, concerning Borough English.
• Publisher: London: Printed by A. Strahan for H. Butterworth:, Third edition,
• Publication Date: 1822
• Language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 3rd Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
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  • Antiquarian History