noun
- a system of inheritance in which land is divided equally among all male heirs
Usage: historical; legal
Examples
- Under gavelkind, the father's estate was split among his three sons.
- Gavelkind was practiced in medieval Kent as an alternative to primogeniture.
- The ancient custom of gavelkind ensured that all male children received equal shares.
- Historians study gavelkind as an early form of inheritance law.
- Unlike primogeniture, gavelkind prevented the concentration of land in one heir.
- The abolition of gavelkind changed property distribution patterns significantly.