HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Majorat'' () is a French term for an arrangement giving the right of succession to a specific parcel of
property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...
associated with a
title of nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the rea ...
to a single heir, based on male
primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...
. A majorat ( fideicommis) would be inherited by the oldest son, or if there was no son, the nearest male relative. This law existed in some European countries and was designed to prevent the distribution of wealthy estates between many members of the family, thus weakening their position. Majorats were one of the factors facilitating the evolution of
aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...
. The term is not used to refer to inheritances in England, where the practice was the norm, in the form of entails (also known as
fee tail In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust, established by deed or settlement, that restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents that property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise ali ...
s. Majorats were explicitly regulated by
French law French law has a dual jurisdictional system comprising private law (), also known as judicial law, and public law (). Judicial law includes, in particular: * () * Criminal law () Public law includes, in particular: * Administrative law ( ...
. In France, it was a title to property, landed or funded, attached to a title instituted by
Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
and abolished in 1848. In many cases, the title could not be inherited if the property attached to it did not pass to the same person. Like English entails, the consequences of majorats were often used in fiction to add complexity to plots;
Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...
was especially interested in them.Butler, Ronnie, ''Balzac and the French Revolution'', pp. 113-120, 1983, Taylor & Francis, , 9780389204060
google books
/ref> In the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
, majorat was known as '' ordynacja'' and was introduced in late 16th century by King
Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory (; ; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) as well as Prince of Transylvania, earlier Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576). The son of Stephen VIII Báthory ...
. A couple of Polish magnates' fortunes were based on ''ordynacja'': namely those of the Radziwiłłs, Zamoyskis, Wielopolskis. was abolished by the institution of agricultural reform in the
People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
. In Portugal, there was a similar arrangement called a , the holder of which was denominated the ''morgado'' (or ''morgada'' if female). Each ''morgadio'' was established by a specific deed on the basis of an indivisible estate and included rules of succession. In many cases, one of the requirements for inheritance was that the heir must take the family name—-and occasionally the coat of arms—-of the founder of the ''morgadio''. Both men and women could institute and inherit one, although in most cases succession was preferentially by male primogeniture. In some families many ''morgadios'' were accumulated as a result of marriage alliances, leading to a tradition of very long family names among the Portuguese nobility. ''Morgadios'' were abolished in 1863. In Spain the practice was known as , and was a part of the Castilian law from 1505 () to 1820. Basque majorats could be inherited by the oldest male or female child.


See also

* Minorat – same as majorat, only inheritance passed to the youngest child *
Fee tail In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust, established by deed or settlement, that restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents that property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise ali ...
- similar but different concept in common law


References

{{reflist Property law legal terminology