Gavelkind

a law or custom of inheritance by which the property of the parent is distributed to all the children alike. It is the general practice in civilized countries, save in parts of England and certain other districts where a desire to keep fine estates together as a whole has led to giving the chief part of a man's estate to his oldest son, according to the so-called law of primogeniture. According to one form of gavelkind all the sons come in for a share of the land, but the daughters are left out. Gavelkind is the common law of France and of Germany. It is still the law in many parts of Great Britain. In a rural community gavelkind results in many small farms. See France; German Empire; Inheritance