medieval-atlas/economic-development/293

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Customary succession in leases Important though it was, and reaching a peak in the 1540s and 1550s, feuing spread only gradually on church lands: significant feuing did not appear in Glasgow until the early 1580s. Thus, many families remained tenants for much of the sixteenth century. The most common forms ofcustomary tenure were the lease granted for years or for life and the special case of the rental (life lease) which was renewed on the death of the tenant in favour of his kin. Rentalling was most common in southern Scotland where it had long existed in lands as far apart as Newbattle, Melrose, Glasgow, Paisley and Kilwinning. Even with tacks, including short tacks, it was customary to renew them in favour of the tenant or his family. Continuity of possession, while not universally guaranteed, would seem to be the norm in many parts of the country, in both lay and ecclesiastical lands. In practice these tenants had the right ofsucces 193 200 (64%) 150 100 Directly inherited or passed to another member of the family sion to their holdings but unlike freeholders and feuars they did not have a heritable title. In late medieval Scotland, the claim to customary inheritance by tenants was called the 'kindness' of the holding, the right to succeed because the new tenant was kindly ('kin') to the previous tenant. When a rentaller died leaving a wife and children, the widow enjoyed the lands for her lifetime only; but the children were entitled to be rentalled; and the widow had no power to put in any person in the rental. Further, in Glasgow, even ifthe deceased tenant had alone been rentalled, his widow was entitled to the lands for her lifetime by the privilege of St Mungo's widow. The graphs show the breakdown of the customary sucession in leases in the lands of the abbey ofPaisley in Renfrewshire and Ayrshire and in the lands of the barony of Glasgow. Passed to someone Circumstances not evidently related not given but 'with consent' . Customary inheritance in leases in the lands of Paisley Abbey in Renfrewshire and Ayrshire, 1526 to 1555 • Method of acquiring the holding acquired land through marriage acquired land through mother with consent of relative other than father on death of father or other [ill] relative m:::I with consent of father in his lifetime 1 Directly inherited Passed to No or passed to someone not circumstances another member evidently given (17) of the family related but (527) 'with consent' (399) Customary inheritance in leases in the barony of Glasgow, MHBS about 1509 to 1570 293

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