primogeniture

primogeniture The right of an eldest son to succeed to the estate of his father to the exclusion of all his siblings. It was developed in western Europe and introduced in England in the late 11th century by Norman lawyers as a means of preserving intact the landed wealth of the BARONS, as the basis of their military service to the crown. As part of the FEUDAL SYSTEM, primogeniture maintained the political and social status of the aristocracy. Although it was subsequently extended, it never applied to personal or movable property; where previous practice had been for lands to descend to females, then such lands continued to be divided equally amongst the children. Other exceptions to the practice of primogeniture included burghs and the county of Kent, where an alternative system of inheritance existed, known as gavelkind, under which land was divided equally between all sons. Despite the Statute of Wills (1540), which permitted the disinheriting of an oldest son, primogeniture survived in England until 1926 and in Scotland until 1964 and it continues to apply specifically to inheritances of the crown and of most peerages.