as by no means strictly observed, nor was it required.
The regulations regarding this subject are of an extremely frivolous
nature and in contradiction with civilized morals. When a woman
committed adultery, her husband had a right to beat her--this was one of
three cases when he could do so without incurring a penalty--but after
that he could not demand any other satisfaction, for "the same crime
shall either be atoned for or avenged, but not both." The reasons that
entitled a woman to a divorce without curtailing her claims to a fair
settlement were of a very diverse nature: bad breath of the man was
sufficient. The ransom to be paid to the chief or king for the right of
the first night (gobr merch, hence the medieval name marcheta, French
marquette) plays a conspicuous part in the code of laws. The women had
the right to vote in the public meetings. Add to this that similar
conditions are vouched for in Ireland; that marriage on time was also
quite the custom there, and that the women were assured of liberal and
well defined privileges in case of divorce, even to the point of
remuneration for domestic services; that a "first wife" existed by the
side of others, and that legal and illegal children without distinction
received a share of their deceased parent's property--and we have a
picture of the pairing family among the Celts. The marriage laws of the
American Indians seem strict in comparison to the Celtic, but this is
not surprising when we remember that the Celts were still living in
group marriage at Cesar's time.

The Irish gens (Sept; the tribe was called clainne, clan) is confirmed
and described not alone by the ancient law codes, but also by the
English jurists of the 17th century who were sent across for the purpose
of transforming the clan lands into royal dominions. Up to this time,
the soil had been the collective property of the gens or the clan,
except where the chiefs had already claimed it as their private
dominion. When a gentile died, and a household was thus dissolved, the
gentile chief (called caput cognationis by the English jurists) made a
new assignment of the whole gentile territory to the rest of the
household. This division of land probably took place according to such
rules as were observed in Germany. Until about fifty years ago, village
marks were quite frequent, and some of these so-called rundales may be
found to this day. The farmers of a rundale, individual tenants on the
soil that