Canute, King of the English:
Inheritance in Case of Intestacy, c. 1016-1035
The family of the intestate in England was protected against the harshness of the
landlord who was forbidden to take more than a lawful inheritance tax or heriot in such
cases.
C.71. And if anyone depart this life intestate, be it through his neglect,
be it through sudden death; then let not the lord draw more from his property than his
lawful heriot. And according to his direction, let the property be distributed very justly
to the wife and children and relations, to every one according to the degree that belongs
to him.
Source:
Benjamin Thorpe, ed., Ancient Laws and Institutes of England, (London: Eyre
& Spottiswoode, 1840), p. 413; reprinted in Roy C. Cave & Herbert H. Coulson, A
Source Book for Medieval Economic History, (Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Co., 1936;
reprint ed., New York: Biblo & Tannen, 1965), p. 338.
Scanned by Jerome S. Arkenberg, Cal. State Fullerton. The text has been modernized by
Prof. Arkenberg.
This text is part of the Internet
Medieval Sourcebook. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and
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© Paul Halsall, October 1998
halsall@fordham.edu |
