Jus Primae Noctis or Droit du Seigneur

Jus Primae Noctis (Right of the first Night) was a subject of much interest and considerable controversy in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Scholars debated whether it was a custom, a right, or even a myth. Recent evidence would emphasize the so‐called right was simply the ability of the powerful to subject the less powerful to their will. Rape might be a better term to apply since husbands and families had to resort to subterfuge to thwart the desires of the powerful.