Gavelkind () was a system of land tenure chiefly associated with the Celtic law in Ireland and Wales and with the legal traditions of the English county of Kent. The word may have originated from the Old Irish phrases Gabhaltas-cinne or Gavail-kinne, which meant "family settlement" (Modern Gaelic gabhail-cine). The term came to describe all tenure and inheritance practices where land was divided equally among sons or other heirs. Kent's inheritance pattern was a system of partible inheritance and bears a resemblance to Salic patrimony. As such, it may bear witness to a wider Germanic tradition that was probably ancient. Over the centuries, various acts were passed to disgavel individual manors, but the custom was only fully abolished in England and Wales by the Administration of Estates Act 1925. Gavelkind in Kent Before the abolition of gavelkind tenure by the Administration of Estates Act 1925, all land in Kent was presumed to be held by gavelkind until the contrary was proved. It was more correctly described as socage tenure, subject to the custom of gavelkind. The chief peculiarities of the custom were the following: A tenant could pass on part or all of his lands as a fiefdom from the age of 15. On conviction for a felony, the lands were not subject to corruption of blood. The tenant could generally dispose of his lands in his will. In case of intestacy, the estate was passed on to all sons or their representatives in equal shares, with all sons being left equally a gentleman. Although females claiming in their own right were given a second preference, they could still inherit through representation. A dowager was entitled to half of the land. A widow who had no children was entitled to inherit half of the estate as a tenant as long as she remained unmarried. Gavelkind, an example of customary law in England, was thought to have existed before the Norman Conquest of 1066, but was generally superseded by the feudal law of primogeniture introduced by the Normans. Its survival in Kent has been popularly attributed to a concession made to the people of the county by William the Conqueror, although this suggestion is now largely dismissed by scholars as legend. Gavelkind in Wales In medieval Wales, a legal framework had developed based on the ancient Celtic laws and traditions similar to those in Ireland. These included a custom of gavelkind