Note 13 — VIRGINITY AND ITS TRADITIONS.
Reading edition
An old established practice whereby newly married women are deflowered by others than their husbands, whether by priest, lord, or stranger. To discuss this relic of feudalism would be beyond the scope of a note; it is summed up briefly in the idea that the lord of a domain was entitled to exact tribute from his subjects in the form of intercourse with every bride on the first night of her marriage. Our readers are referred to Dr. Karl Schmidt’s Jus Primæ Noctis (The Law of the First Night), the most comprehensive treatise on the subject.