曆史：文明的歐洲, agnatic succession or male-preference primogenitur

Agnatic succession?or?male-preference primogeniture

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It been a defining feature of European legal, dynastic, and social systems for centuries. Here's a detailed overview of how this principle shaped European history:

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1. Feudal and Aristocratic Traditions

In medieval and early modern Europe, landed inheritance was central to power, especially among the nobility:

• Primogeniture (eldest son inherits everything) ensured that estates remained intact rather than being divided among children. This preserved the wealth and power of noble families.
• In England, after the Norman Conquest (1066), primogeniture became formalized under common law.
• In France, particularly under Salic Law, inheritance by women was completely prohibited in many noble and royal successions.

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2. Salic Law

The Salic Law (originating with the Salian Franks) strictly barred women and their descendants through the female line from inheriting thrones or titles:

• Used to justify exclusion of women from royal succession in France (e.g., the Hundred Years’ War, when England’s Edward III claimed the French crown through his mother).
• This was a key part of French succession law up until the fall of the monarchy.

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3. Holy Roman Empire and Germanic Lands

• Many German principalities and noble houses followed semi-Salic or strict agnatic succession.
• The Salic tradition also influenced succession in the Habsburg domains, until the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 (which allowed Maria Theresa to inherit).

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4. British Monarchy

• Historically followed male-preference primogeniture until recently:
  • A younger male child would precede an older female sibling in the line of succession.
  • Changed only in 2013 under the Succession to the Crown Act, which established absolute primogeniture (firstborn inherits, regardless of gender).

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5. Ecclesiastical and Property Laws

• In church inheritance and clerical celibacy, male inheritance did not apply directly, but landed patronage often passed only through male lines to maintain family control of church appointments.
• Civil law systems (e.g., Napoleonic Code) initially maintained male priority, though they began reforming in the 19th–20th centuries.

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6. Resistance and Change

• Over time, dynastic crises and political shifts forced changes:
  • Spain altered its succession laws multiple times (e.g., Carlist Wars stemmed from disputes over male vs. female succession).
  • Modern constitutional monarchies in Europe (e.g., Sweden, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway) have now adopted gender-equal succession.

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Summary of Historical Impact:

• Ensured patrilineal consolidation of power.
• Led to dynastic wars and succession crises.
• Delayed the rise of women to positions of sovereignty.
• Embedded gender inequality in aristocratic and royal laws for centuries.