The Irish system of individual land tenure was known to the English as
gavelkind, so named because it reminded the Norman settlers of a local feudal system in Kent called
gavelkind.
One wonders, though, whether the ideological valence of dividing the land is so clearly defined: early modern critics of primogeniture lauded the ancient Kentish custom of
Gavelkind land tenure (partible inheritance), and engrossing of estates was a key strategy of "improvement.
asking for retention of ancient customs, among them
gavelkind, to which William agreed] tho' the father suffer for a felony, yet his son succeeds to his estate, according to the rhime, and the son to the plow, &c.
Instead of primogeniture, by which an eldest son inherited his father's land and other property, the penal legislation mandated
gavelkind (repealed in 1778), whereby an estate was divided equally among all male children, thus obstructing consolidation of assets in one son's hands.
In Kent, with
gavelkind tenure, men were free to sell or otherwise alienate their land and it was shared among all male heirs on the death of a tenant.
