Daily AncestorMartinmas
Martinmas is November 11, the feast of St. Martin of Tours, an old date for slaughtering livestock for winter and, in Scotland, for paying rent.
Martinmas, or St. Martin's Day, falls on November 11. In the Middle Ages and early modern period it was an important festival, the time when livestock were slaughtered for winter. In Scotland it was a term day, when rent was paid and farm leases often ended.
Scotland later moved its Martinmas term day to November 28, so in Scottish records from the twentieth century on, check which date is meant.
As seen in a recordTerm in a servant's hiring agreement
hired from Martinmas to Martinmas
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Daily Ancestor. "Martinmas." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/dates-calendar/martinmas. Last checked 2026-10-01.