udal
/ˈjuːd(ə)l
/noun [mass noun] Law
A kind of freehold tenure based on uninterrupted possession, formerly practised in northern Europe and still in use in Orkney and Shetland.Many storms have lashed the Northern Isles since udal law was introduced to Orkney and Shetland, yet still it endures, defining the boundaries of farms that have remained in the same family for a millennium or more....
- Orkney MSP and Scottish Justice Minister Jim Wallace has moved to allay fears that udal law in Orkney will be scrapped as a result of proposals being considered by the Scottish Law Commission.
- The Scottish Law Commission are still receiving responses to their discussion paper on the law relating to the foreshore and the seabed, which could see the scrapping of udal rights in Orkney - but the OIC have yet to make a response.
Origin
Late 15th century: from Old Norse othal 'property held by inheritance', of Germanic origin.