Heriot

In English law

A customary tribute of goods or chattels, payable to the lord of the fee, on the decease of the owner of the land, — now confined for the most part to copyhold tenures. It consists sometimes of the best live beasts of which the tenant dies possessed, sometimes of a jewel or piece of plate, but is always a personal chattel.

In old English law

A gift or legacy by a tenant to his lord, at his death, of his best or second best beast, accor<5ing to custom. V. Hereotum. In Saxon law. A payment or tribute in arms, or military accoutre- Ilerlta1l)le. In Scots law. That which may be inherited; that which goes to the heir, and not to the executor. Heritable bond: a bond accompanied by a conveyance of land, as a security for debt. Heritable jarisdiction: a grant of criminal jurisdiction, formerly bestowed on great families to facilitate the administration of justice. Heritable rights: rights of the heir; rights to land, or whatever may be intimately connected with land.