| Webster's Online Dictionary |
| Expressions | Domain | Definition | |
| Droit d'aubaine | Law | DROIT D'AUBAINE, jus albinatus. 1. This was a rule by which all the property of a deceased foreigner, whether movable or immovable, was confiscated to the use of the state, to the exclusion of his heirs, whether claiming ab intestato, or under a will of the deceased. The word aubain signifies hospes loci, peregrinus advena, a stranger. It is derived, according to some, from alibi, elsewhere, natus, born, from which the word albinus is said to be formed. Others, as Cujas, derive the word directly from advena, by which word, aubains, or strangers, are designated in the capitularies of Charlemagne. See Du Cange and Dictionaire de Trevoux. 2. As the darkness of the middle ages wore away, and the light of civilization appeared, thing barbarous and inhospitable usage was by degrees discontinued, and is now nearly abolished in the civilized world. It subsisted in France, however, in full force until 1791, and afterwards, in a modified form, until 1819, when it was formally abolished by law. For the gross abuses of this feudal exaction, see Dictionaire de l'Ancien Regime et des abus feodaux. Aubain. See Albinatus jus. (references) | |
| Droit d'aubaine | Literature | 1: "Had I died that night of an indigestion, the whole world could not have suspended the effects of the droits d'aubaine: my shirts and black pair of breeches, portmauteau and all, must have gone to the king of France." - Sterne: Sentimental Journey (Introduction). 2: In France the king was entitled, at the death of foreign residents (except Swiss and Scots), to all their movable estates; the law was only abolished in 1819. Aubain means "alien," and droit d'aubaine the "right over an alien's property." Source: Brewer's Dictionary. | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | Top | ||
