inheritance known as . Cyfran was an ancient tradition passed down orally by jurists and bards until the mid-10th century, when the laws were finally codified during the reign of Hywel Dda. The Cyfraith Hywel would become the most well-known and widely-adopted Welsh legal structure, and many of the laws were concerned with inheritance. The concept of cyfran stated that on a landowner's death, his land would be divided equally among all of the sons, including those who were illegitimate. The continual division of lands and titles with each successive generation has been seen by some historians as detrimental to the success and stability of Welsh princes and lords, especially compared to the system of primogeniture practised in Norman England and by the Marcher Lords, whose entire patrimony was often passed on directly to the eldest son. The Welsh historian Philip Yorke, writing in 1799, summarised the situation: The Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 saw the Welsh legal system being replaced with English law, and the laws associated with gavelkind were replaced with those of primogeniture. However, as in England, the custom of gavelkind was not finally abolished until the Administration of Estates Act 1925. Gavelkind in Ireland In Ireland, gavelkind was a species of tribal succession by which the land, instead of being divided at the death of the holder amongst his sons, was thrown again into the common stock and redivided among the surviving members of the sept. Under Traditional Irish law, land was divided at the death of the holder among his sons. The Normans called the Irish inheritance law gavelkind because of its apparent similarity to Jutish gavelkind inheritance in Kent. See also History of English land law Invicta (motto) Notes References Challis, Real Property. Digby, History of the Law of Real Property Pollock and F. W. Maitland, History of English Law Further reading Real property law Inheritance English legal terminology Legal history of the United Kingdom Land tenure