The Tenures of Kent Author:Charles Isaac Elton General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1867 Original Publisher: Parker and Co. Subjects: Land tenure Feudalism Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access... more » to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CHA. PTEE IV. Gavelkind. The worJ ' Gavelkind' used in different senses. -- Great confusion has re- sulted from this. -- Socage before the Conquest. -- The ancient Socagc of Kent. -- The customs of Gavelkind. -- The custom of partible descent in Kent. -- Similar customs in other parts of England. A Confusion has arisen in many arguments upon the nature of gavelkind, from the fact that the word has been constantly used in several different senses. It is often forgotten that, properly speaking, gavelkind is the tenure of socage according to the customs of Kent, and not merely a peculiar mode of descent known upon freehold and copyhold alike in several counties. When it is once clearly shewn to be a tenure, and not merely a custom, it will be seen how impossible it is for land and tenements to have been from the Conquest till now held in two tenures simultaneously; in other words, for the custom now to attach itself to lands proved to have been held from the beginning to the end of the feudal system by ancient military or spiritual services, in chivalry or in francalmoigne. Only an ancient and original socage tenure is imbued with the qualities of gavelkind. There are five different significations which have from time to time been used as synonyms of gavelkind, and a brief discussion of them in order may help to remove the confusion mentioned above. This word has been used in the following different senses, of which the first and second are alone strictly correct. 1. Socage tenure before the Conquest. 2. Immemorial socag...« less