The History of the Condition of Women Author:Lydia Maria Francis Child Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: but afterward women were allowed to succeed in default of male heirs, provided they paid a required contribution in money, instead of forces. If they married wit... more »hout the consent of their feudal lord, they forfeited their inheritance; and if he chose a husband for them, they were compelled to accept him. The law required that every heiress under sixty years of age should marry, and that her husband should perform feudal duties. If a baron did not provide when a girl was twelve years old, she might in open court require him to present three men for her selection ; and if he did not comply, he had no right to control her choice afterward. She might likewise at that age claim from her guardian the uncontrolled management of her estates. The mother was guardian of an infant, and in case of her death, the next heir supplied her place. The widow's dowry was half of her husband's estate for life, and half of his chattels. If there was not sufficient to pay debts, the widow and creditors divided equally. In some places, the feudal lord claimed and enforced certain privileges with regard to the daughters of his tenants, which are too gross to be described. It is true there were beautiful instances of a patriarchal relation, where the noble-hearted baron received cheerful and affectionate service, and gave ample protection and munificent kindness in return ; but these were exceptions. There was a vast amount of ignorance, degradation, corruption, and tyranny, as there ever must be where one portion of the human family are allowed unrestrained power over the other. For several centuries after the fall of Rome, the ' state of society was exceedingly Unsettled and turbulent. The priests and the powerful barons were continually at variance with the kings, neither of them being willing to cons...« less