This article reacts to the discussion about the significance of legal terminology in medieval Czech law. It deals with the problematic property law term hereditas in medieval sources, especially in texts that fall into the land law (zemské právo, Landrecht). The article is critical of the opinion that the term hereditas had an unambiguous, defined meaning that delineated free ownership of allodial property within the land law. Instead, this article attempts to highlight the fact property law terminology remained undefined for the entire medieval period and the meaning of individual terms developed from the broader legal, social, and economic contexts.
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