An Account of Denmark

8 Of the Salick Law, and what Right Women had in the King’ s their Father’s Inheritance

252 CHAPTER VIII Of the Salick Law, and what Right Women had in the King’s their Father’s Inheritance  Because we have undertaken to give an Account of the Law and Right of Regal Inheritance, we must not omit making mention of the Salick Law; which is both daily discours’d of by our Countrymen, and in the memory of our Forefathers serv’d to appease a great and dangerous Contention, which arose touching the Succession to the Crown.83 For when (Anno 1328.) Charles the Fair, Son of Philip the Fair, died, leaving his Wife with Child of a Daughter, (which some Months after was born) Edward King of England (Son of Isabella, the Daughter of Philip the fair, and Sister to Charles lately dead) claimed the Inheritance of his Grandfather’s Kingdom as his Right. But Philip of Valois, Cousin-german by the Father’s Side to the deceased King, standing up, alledged that there was an ancient Regal Law, called the Salick Law, by which all Women were ex- [83.] Issues of female succession in the Hanoverian line (i.e., Sophia of Hanover ) rendered this chapter (translated between 1705 and 1711) very sensitive for an Anglophone audience. Chapter VIII  253 cluded from the Inheritance of the Crown. Now this Law both Gaguinus and other Writers of like stamp tell us, was written by Pharamond; and he calls it a most famous Law, even to his Time. For in his Life of Philip of Valois; “The Salick Law (says he) was a Bar to Edward’s Title; which Law being first given by Pharamond to the Franks, has been religiously observed , even to those days. By that Law, only the Heirs Male of our Kings are capable of governing the Kingdom, and no Females can be admitted to that Dignity. The Words of that Law are these: Nulla hereditatis portio de terra Salica ad mulierem venito; ‘Let no part of the Inheritance of Salick Land come to a Woman.’ Now (says Gaguinus) the French Lawyers call Salick Land, such as belongs only to the King, and is different from the Allodial which concerns the Subjects; to whom, by that Law, is granted a free dominion of any thing, not excluding the Princely Authority.” And to the same Purpose, not only almost all the Francogallican Historians, but even all the Lawyers and Pettifoggers have wrote to this Day, as Paponius testifies, Arrest. lib. 4. cap. 1. So that now the mistake has prevailed so far, as to have obtained the Force of a Law. To explain this, it must be remembered (which we formerly gave an account of) that the Franks had two Seats of their Empire, and two Kingdoms; One in France, which remains to this Day; The other beyond the Rhine, near the River Sala; from whence they were called Salii, and Salici Franci (joyning the two Names together) but for the most part briefly Salici; the Kingdom of these last, and even their very Name is in a Manner extinct. Ammianus Marcellinus makes mention in his History (as we told you before) of these Salii, and shews, that they are called the Eastern Franks, as the other were called the Western. Now as there were two Kingdoms of the Franks, so they had different Laws: those that belonged to the Salii, were called Salick; those that belonged to the Francogalli, were called French. Eguinarthus in his Life of Charles the Great says thus: “After he had assumed, the Imperial Title, finding that his Peoples Laws were in many Things deficient, (for the Franks have two Laws, very different from each other in many cases,) he thought of adding such as were wanting.” The Author of the Preface to the Salick Law has this Passage. “The renowned Nation of the Franks, before it was converted to the Catholick Faith, enacted the Salick Law by the Great Men of the Nation, who at that Time were their Governors; 254  Francogallia and from among a great many, four Persons were chosen; Wisogast, Arbogast , Salogast, and Windogast; who during three Conventions [tres mallos] carefully perusing all Causes from their Original, gave their Judgment and Decree of every one of them in this Manner, etc.” Sigebertus in Chron. anni 422. & Otto Frising. lib. 4. cap. Penult. make use of almost the same Words. “From that time (say they) the Laws recommended to them...