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Small Fields and Wet Land: Inheritance Practices and the Transmission of Real Property in the Romney Marshes, c. 1150–1350

Small Fields and Wet Land: Inheritance Practices and the Transmission of Real Property in the... AbstractHow did the inheritance strategies of peasant society find expression in the landscape in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries? What was the influence of partible inheritance, a customary system in which land was divided between all sons, or in their absence, all daughters? Partible inheritance in Kent has received little study over recent years, in contrast to other parts of eastern England. Yet it has acquired great weight as a simple explanatory mechanism for many aspects of the Kentish landscape: the suggestion of an early peasant land market, the size of peasant holdings, and the field-system. Inheritance practices in Kent have often been regarded as unchanging over centuries. This article argues that, in fact, they must be examined in relation to family, household and tenure under specific conditions. Deeds of the manors of Christ Church Priory, Canterbury, provide new ways to examine structural changes at this early period, whereas studies of other areas have largely utilised manorial court rolls from the later Middle Ages. The locality investigated is the Romney Marshes. These marshes formed a distinctive pays within Kent, partly because of the presence of the Cinque Ports and other smaller ports. This study aims to stimulate discussion not only about the particularities of landscape and inheritance in this pays but also in other parts of Kent and of England (Draper 2003a). http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Landscapes Taylor & Francis

Small Fields and Wet Land: Inheritance Practices and the Transmission of Real Property in the Romney Marshes, c. 1150–1350

Draper, Gillian
Landscapes , Volume 6 (1): 28 – Apr 1, 2005
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2005 Maney
ISSN
2040-8153
eISSN
1466-2035
DOI
10.1179/lan.2005.6.1.18
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractHow did the inheritance strategies of peasant society find expression in the landscape in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries? What was the influence of partible inheritance, a customary system in which land was divided between all sons, or in their absence, all daughters? Partible inheritance in Kent has received little study over recent years, in contrast to other parts of eastern England. Yet it has acquired great weight as a simple explanatory mechanism for many aspects of the Kentish landscape: the suggestion of an early peasant land market, the size of peasant holdings, and the field-system. Inheritance practices in Kent have often been regarded as unchanging over centuries. This article argues that, in fact, they must be examined in relation to family, household and tenure under specific conditions. Deeds of the manors of Christ Church Priory, Canterbury, provide new ways to examine structural changes at this early period, whereas studies of other areas have largely utilised manorial court rolls from the later Middle Ages. The locality investigated is the Romney Marshes. These marshes formed a distinctive pays within Kent, partly because of the presence of the Cinque Ports and other smaller ports. This study aims to stimulate discussion not only about the particularities of landscape and inheritance in this pays but also in other parts of Kent and of England (Draper 2003a).

Journal

Landscapes – Taylor & Francis

Published: Apr 1, 2005

References

  • ‘Open fields and partible inheritance on a Kent manor’
  • ‘Medieval rural society and economy at Lydd’, in Eddison
  • The rise of ideological politics in Kent, 2580-2640'
  • ‘The rural sociology of medieval England’
  • `John de Berwyke and the Consuetudines Kancie'
  • ‘Factors in market establishment in Medieval England: the evidence from Kent 1086-1350’
  • Isleham: a medieval inland port'
  • ‘Earthworks Survey, Romney Marsh’
  • Women's property rights under customary law
  • Development of the Kentish marshes in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest