Definition

1. Noun:
   • A medieval form of land tenure in England: A "copyhold" was a legal arrangement where a tenant held a parcel of land from the lord of a manor. The tenant's rights and duties were recorded on a copy of the manor court roll, which served as their title deed. This tenure was typically held in return for performing specific agricultural services or paying customary rents to the lord.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The farmer's family had lived on the land for generations under copyhold.
  • The abolition of copyhold tenure simplified land ownership laws in England.

Advanced Usage

• "To hold in copyhold": To possess land under this specific form of tenure.
  • His ancestors held the estate in copyhold for centuries before it was enfranchised.

Variants and Related Words

• Copyholder (n): A person who holds land by copyhold tenure.
  • The copyholder attended the manor court to pay his dues.

Synonyms

• Customary tenure: A general term for land held according to the custom of the manor.
• Bond tenure: A tenure involving obligations or services, though not identical.

Related Phrases

• Copyhold enfranchisement: The legal process of converting copyhold land into freehold ownership.
  • The 19th-century acts allowed for the enfranchisement of copyhold lands.

Noun

1. a medieval form of land tenure in England; a copyhold was a parcel of land granted to a peasant by the lord of the manor in return for agricultural services