Legal Definitions - gavelrep

gavelrep

Gavelrep is an old term that refers to a tenant's responsibility to harvest the lord's fields when the lord commands it. This duty was also known as bederepe.

For example, if a lord owned a large piece of land and had tenants living on it, he could order them to harvest his crops. The tenants would then have to stop their own work and focus on the lord's fields until the job was done. This was known as gavelrep or bederepe.

Another example would be if a lord needed his fields harvested quickly because of an upcoming storm. He could call upon his tenants to perform gavelrep and ensure that the crops were harvested before the storm hit.

These examples illustrate how gavelrep was a duty that tenants had to perform for their lord. It was an important part of their agreement and ensured that the lord's crops were harvested in a timely manner.