Allodium
/əˈloʊdiəm/noun
Land held in absolute ownership, free from feudal dues or obligations.
Did you know?Allodial ownership represented a legal ideal of ancestral freedom, contrasting with feudal land held conditionally from a superior lord.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*alōd
“Entire property or inherited possession”
Early Medieval Period
Frankish
alōd
“Property held outright, especially inherited family land”
9th Century
Medieval Latin
alodis
“Free hereditary property, as opposed to feudal tenure”
11th–12th Century
Medieval Latin
allodium
“Land owned independently and not held from a feudal lord”
17th Century
English
allodium
“Land held in absolute ownership”
Modern English
English
allodium
“Freehold land exempt from feudal obligations”