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that Law, only the Heirs Male of our Kings are capable of governing the Kingdom, and 66 no Females can be admitted to that Dignity. "The Words of that Law are thefe: Nulla here"ditatis portio de terrâ Salica ad mulicrem venito; "Let no part of the Inheritance of Salick Land come to a Woman. Now (fays Gaguinus) the "French Lawyers call Salick Land, fuch as belongs only to the King, and is different

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from the Alodial which concerns the Sub"jects; to whom, by that Law, is granted a "free dominion of any thing, not excluding "the Princely Authority. And to the fame purpofe, not only almoft all the Francogallican Hiftorians, but even all the Lawyers and Pettifoggers have wrote to this day, as Paponius teftifies, Arreft. lib. 4. cap. 1. So that now the mistake has prevailed fo far, as to have obtain'd the force of a Law. To explain this, it must be remembred (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 moft part briefly Salici; the Kingdom of these laft, and even their very Name is in a manner extinct. Ammianus Marcellinus makes mention in his Hiftory (as we told you before) of these Salii, and fhews, that they are called the Eastern Franks, as the other were called the Western. Now as there were two Kingdoms of the Franks, fo they had different Laws: thofe that belonged to the Salii, were called Salick; thofe that belonged to the Francogalli, were called French. Eguinarthus in his Life of Charles the F 4

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Great fays thus:-"After he had affumed 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 cafes,) he thought of adding fuch as were wanting. The Author of the Preface to the Salick Law has this paffage. "The renowned Nation of the Franks, before

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it was converted to the Catholick Faith, . enacted the Salick Law by the Great Men of "the Nation, who at that time were their cc Governors; and from among a great many, "four perfons were chofen; Wifogaft, Arbogast,

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Salogaft, and Windogaft; who, during three Conventions [tres mallos] carefully perufing all Caufes from their Original, gave their Judgment and Decree of every one of them in this manner, &c.- Sigebertus in Chron. anni 422. & Otto Frifing, lib. 4. cap. penult. make use of almoft the fame words. From "that time (fay they) the Laws recommended to them by Wifigaftaldus and Salogaftus, be“ gan to be in force. By this Salogaftus, they "tell us, that Law was invented, which from "his Name is to this day called the Salick Law; and the moft noble of the Franks, called Sa"lici, obferve it at this time. Thus fay the old Chronographers. By which we may refute the Error of fuch as derive the Salick Law, à Sale, that is, Prudence; or that it was call'd corruptly Lex Salica, inftead of Gallica ; than which nothing can be more abfurd. But much greater Errors fpring from the fame Fountain: Firft, That People are fo far impofed upon by those Authors, as to believe the Salick Law had reference to the Publick Right of the Commonwealth and the Government, alfo to the Hereditary Suc

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ceffion of the Kingdom. Now the very Records or Tables of this Salick Law were not many years ago found and brought to light; from whofe Infcription it appears, that they were firft written and publifh'd about Pharamond's time: Befides, that all the Heads and Articles, both of the Salick and French Laws, were Conftitutions relating only to private Right between Man and Man, and meddled not with the publick Right of the Kingdom or Commonwealth: among the reft one Chapter, tit. 62. has this in it. Of the Salick Land, no part or portion of Inheritance paffes to a Female; but this falls to the Male Off-spring; CC that is, the Sons fhall fucceed to the Inhericc tance: But where a difpute fhall arife (after a long courfe of time) among the Grandfons. "and great Grandfons, de *Alode terra; let it be allodium divided, Non per ftirpes fed per capita. The is the conlike Law, Extat apud Ripuarios, tit. 58. Item a- trary to pud Anglos, tit. 7. Where they are fo far from Gothick enacting any thing relating to the Inheritan- Words, ces of Kingdoms, that they do not fo much as for which affect Feudal Succeffions, but only belong to 'tis diffiAllodial; altho' a portion was affigned to Wo- find promen out of thofe Allodial Lands. Which way per Enfoever this matter may be, 'tis manifeft in the glib. first place, That altho' no Article, either of the Frank or Salick Law were extant, which debars Women from the Inheritance of the Crown; yet the Cuftoms and Inftitutions of a Nation, preferv'd inviolate by universal confent, during fo many Ages, obtain the force of a written Law: For tho' Childeric, the third King, left two Daughters behind him at his Death, the Kingdom was given to his Brother Lotharius and his Daughters excluded. Again,af

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ter the Death of Cherebert the 5th King, who left three Daughters; the Succeffion devolv'd upon his Brother Sigebert. Alfo when Gontrannus King of Burgundy and Orleans died, the Kingdom was conferr'd on his Brother Sigebert, not on his Daughter Clotilda. Laftly, Philip of Valois's Advocates might with greater caution, as well as efficacy, have argued for him out of the Feudal Law, by which all Inheritances of Fiefs defcend to the Male Iffue only, and not to the Female, who are not admitted to them. And when there happens a want of Heirs Males in that Line or Branch wherein the Fief is lodged, then the Feudum or Fief returns back to the other Stock or Branch: which was the very cafe at that time. But fuch Fiefs as thro' a Depravation of the Law, are convey'd down to Women, cannot properly be called Feuda, but Feudaftra, as in other of our Writings we have made it appear.

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Of the Right of Wearing a large Head of Hair, peculiar to the Royal Family.

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T will not be amifs in this place to give fome account of a Custom of our Ancestors, relating to the Hair worn by the Royal Family: For 'tis recorded, that our Forefathers had a particular Law concerning it; viz. That fuch as were chofen Kings by the People, or were

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of the Regal Family, fhou'd preferve their Hair, and wear it parted from the Forehead, on both fides the Head, and anointed with fweet Oyl, as an Ornament and peculiar Mark of their being of the Royal Family; whilft all other Perfons, how nobly born foever, had no right to wear a large Head of Hair; but were obliged to go with their Heads fhorn or fhaved, upon the account (as 'tis probable) that they fhou'd be more ready and expedite in their continual Military Exercifes, as the Roman Hiftories tell us of Julius Cæfar, and feveral others. Aimoinus, lib. 1. cap. 4. fays "The Franks

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chufing for themselves a King, according to "the Cuftom of other Nations, raised Pharamond to the Throne, to whom fucceeded his Son Clodio-crinitus; For at that time the Kings of the Franks wore large Heads of Hair. "Alfo lib. 3. cap. 61. Gundoaldus being brought up by his Mother after the regal manner, wore a long Head of Hair, according to the Cuftom of the ancient Kings of the Franks. In like manner Agathius, lib. de Bell. Goth. 1. who ts foon (fays he) where he speaks of Clodoveus, one of our Kings, who was taken in Battel by the Burgundians, (he calls him Clodamirus). "As foon (fays he) as his Horfe had thrown him, the Burgundi(C ans efpying his large Head of Hair, which "fell back over his Shoulders, presently knew

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him to be the Enemy's General; for 'tis not "lawful for the Kings of the Franks to cut off "their Hair, but even from their Childhood "they remain untrimm'd, and always keep a

large Head of Hair hanging low down upon "their Backs. And we have many Instances that it was our Anceftor's cuftom, whenever they either deprived any one of the Crown,

or

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