osed on them,
By the stars, by the earth,
That from the nobility of the mother
Should always be the right to the sovereignty."[224]

[222] Giraud-Teulon, _op. cit._ pp. 41-42.

[223] Bede, II. 1-7.

[224] McLennan, _Studies_, p. 46.

Similar traces are found in England: Canute, the Dane, when
acknowledged King of England, married Emma, the widow of his
predecessor, Ethelred. Ethelbald, King of Kent, married his
stepmother, after the death of his father Ethelbert; and, as late as
the ninth century, Ethelbald, King of the West Saxons, wedded Judith,
the widow of his father. Such marriages are intelligible only if we
suppose that the queen had the power of conferring the kingdom upon
her consort, which could only happen where maternal descent was, or
had been, practised. These marriages with the widow of a king were at
one time very common. The familiar example of Hamlet's uncle is one,
who, after murdering his brother, married his wife and became king.
His acceptance by the people, in spite of his crime, is explained if
it was the old Danish custom for marriage with the king's widow to
carry the kingdom with it. In Hamlet's position as avenger, and his
curious hesitancy, we have really an indication of the conflict
between the old and the new ways of descent.[225]

[225] See Frazer, _Golden Bough_, Part I. _The Magic Art_,
Vol. II, 282-283.

The Celtic population of Britain preserved the institution of the clan
much longer than the other European races. In Wales and in Ireland, in
particular, communism was strongly established. The clan was
responsible for the crimes of its members, paid the fines, and
received the compensations.[226] There are numerous indications of
mother-right. In Ireland women retained a very high position and much
freedom, both before and after marriage, to a late period: temporary
unions were freely allowed, and customs having the force of law
safeguarded the rights of the wife. "Every woman," it was said, "is to
go the way she willeth freely."[227]

[226] Letourneau, _op. cit._ p. 338. Maine, _Early
Institutions_, pp. 113 _et seq._

[227] Rhys and Brynmor-Jones, _The Welsh People_.

The early Celtic mythologies and folk-records are full of these
survivals. Goddesses are frequent as primeval tribal-mothers. Let me
give one instance. The Irish goddess Brigit (whose attributes at a
later date were transferred to St. Bridget) is referred to in a