History glossary
Salic law
a legal tradition later used in France to argue that women could not inherit or transmit the royal crown.
- Category
- Legal principle
- Region
- France
- Date range
- Medieval
What it means
Salic law was a Frankish legal tradition later invoked by French jurists to support the exclusion of women, and claims through women, from the French throne. It gave legal language to the decision that rejected Edward III's claim through his mother, Isabella.
