GAVEL-Kind, a tenure or custom belonging to lands in the county of Kent. The word is said by Lambard to be compounded of three Saxon words, gyfe, eal, kyn, or omwuld cognatione proxinis data. Verstegeen calls it gavelkind, or give all kind, that is, to each child his part; and Taylor, in his history of gavelkind, derives it from the British gavel, that is, a hold or tenure, and cenned, generatio or familia; and so gavelcenned might signify tenura generacionis. It is universally known what struggles the Kentish men made to preserve their ancient liberties, and with how much success those struggles were attended. And as it is principally here that we meet with the custom of gavelkind, though it was and is to be found in some other parts of the kingdom, we may fairly conclude that this was a part of these liberties; agreeably to Mr Selden's opinion, that gavelkind, before the Norman conquest, was the general custom of the realm. The principal and distinguishing properties of this kind of tenure are these: 1. The tenant is of age sufficient to alienate his estate by feoffment, at the age of fifteen. 2. The estate does not escheat in case of an attainder and execution for felony; their maxim being, "the father to the bough, the son to the plough." 3. In most places, he had the power of devising lands by will before the statute for that purpose was made. 4. The lands descend, not to the oldest, youngest, or any one son only, but to all the sons together; which was indeed ar-
iently the most usual course of descent all over England, though in particular places particular customs prevailed.