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merchet

/ ˈmɜːtʃɪt /

noun

  1. (in feudal England) a fine paid by a tenant, esp a villein, to his lord for allowing the marriage of his daughter
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of merchet1

C13: from Anglo-French, literally: market
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Example Sentences

It seems to me that Glanville has in mind liberation de facto from certain duties and customs, such as agricultural work for instance, or the payment of merchet.

To tenure, merchet, being a personal payment, should have no relation whatever.

Such is the merchet of our extents and Court rolls.

In the first place this merchet fine occurs in the extents sporadically as it were.

And so we are driven to the inference, that different customs prevailed in this respect in places immediately adjoining each other, and that not all the feudal serfs descended from Saxon slaves paid merchet.

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