Note 146 — Chapter II · THEORY OF THE HORDE AND MOTHER-RIGHT

The well-known theory of Starcke, op. cit., 121-27. It is not essential, according to this view, in early stages of development, that a child should be actually begotten by the father. It is enough that it should be borne by his legal wife and be accepted by him. Hence the jus primae noctis, exercised by a priest, king, or other distinguished person, is sometimes regarded as an honor: ibid., 125, 126; Westermarck, op. cit., 79.