a payment of money or goods owed to a feudal lord when a tenant died or their lease ended.
Old English 'heregeatu' from 'here' (army) + 'geatu' (equipment, goods). Originally it meant equipment given to warriors; it later became a feudal due paid to lords upon death or succession.
The concept started as 'army equipment' but transformed into one of history's most creative ways to extract money from grieving families—when your tenant died, the lord got their best animal or payment instead!
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