jus primae noctis

Definitions

(Noun) Referred to in the Babylonian Talmud, Kesuvos 3b. The Roman prefect would so behave with brides on their wedding night.

---

Latin for: law of the first night. In English: right of the first night. In French: droit du seigneur (right of the lord). In Roman and Mediaval times, the groom, supposedly, would allow his new bride to have sex with his master on their wedding night, and for that first night only. Wether truly a law or only a myth, it term reflects the attitude of regarding women as sexual property.

QUOTE: Hugo G. Beigel. Sex from A to Z (1961): ' Up to the end of the eighteenth century, the feudal landlords in various European countries had the privilege of deflowering the newlywed brides of their serfs. This custom was, according to some historians, a remnant of a still older one whereby the priest of a tribe performed the DEFLORATION. This is only one of hundreds of examples of how moral and social concepts change with time.'

---

(Expression) This is quite untrue. The jus primae noctis is almost certainly merely a fictional device. Feudal lords did not require a law to exercise sexual power over their serfs.