hadbeengovernedbyeldestsonaftereldestson。
EvenwhentheTeutonicracesspreadoverWesternEuropethey
didnotbringwiththemPrimogenitureastheirordinaryruleof
succession。TheallodialpropertyoftheTeutonicfreeman，that
sharewhichhehadtheoreticallyreceivedattheoriginal
settlementofthebrotherhoodtowhichhebelongedontheir
domain，wasdividedathisdeath，whenitwasdividedatall，
equallybetweenhissonsorequallybetweenhissonsand
daughters。Itisquitecertain，however，thattheappearanceof
PrimogenitureintheWestanditsrapiddiffusionmustbe
connectedwiththeirruptionofthebarbarians，andwiththe
tribalideasre-introducedbythemintotheRomanworld。Atthis
point，however，weencounteranotherdifficulty。The
Primogeniturewhichfirstmeetsusisnotuniformlythe
Primogeniturewithwhichwearenowfamiliar。Therightofthe
eldestsonsometimesgiveswaytotherightoftheeldestmale
relativeofthedeceased，andoccasionallyitseemsasifneither
thesuccessionoftheeldestsonnorthatoftheeldestrelative
couldtakeeffectwithoutelectionorconfirmationbythemembers
oftheaggregategrouptowhichbothbelong。
Asusual，wehavetolookforlivingillustrationsofthe
ancientsystemtotheusagesoftheHindoos。TheFamily，
accordingtotheHindootheory，isdespoticallygovernedbyits
head；butifhediesandtheFamilyseparatesathisdeath，the
propertyisequallydividedbetweenthesons。If，however，the
Familydoesnotseparate，butallowsitselftoexpandintoa
JointFamily，wehavetheexactmixtureofelectionanddoubtful
successionwhichwefindintheearlyexamplesofEuropean
primogeniture。Theeldestson，andafterhimhiseldestson，is
ordinarilythemanageroftheaffairsoftheJointFamily，but
hisprivilegestheoreticallydependonelectionbythe
brotherhood，andmaybesetasidebyit，and，whentheyareset
aside，itisgenerallyinfavourofabrotherofthedeceased
manager，who，onthescoreofgreaterage，isassumedtobe
betterqualifiedthanhisnephewforadministrationandbusiness。
InancientIrishsocietytheJointFamily，continuedthroughmany
generations，hasgrownfirstintotheSeptandthenintothe
Clan，contractingagreaterdegreeofartificialityinproportion
toitsenlargement。Theimportance，meanwhile，oftheChiefto
theTribehasratherincreasedthandiminished，sinceheisno
longermerelyadministratorofitscivilaffairsbutitsleader
inwar。Thesystemproducedfromtheseelementsappearstome
sufficientlyintelligible。ThevenerationoftheTribeisnot
attractedbyindividualsoftheChieftain’sfamily，butbythe
familyitself，asrepresentingthepurestbloodoftheentire
brotherhood。Itchoosesitsheadandleadersaveonthevery
rarestoccasionsfromthisfamily，andthereareinstancesof
thechoicebeingsystematicallymadefromtwofamiliesin
alternation。Butthenecessityofhavingamilitaryleaderinthe
vigourofhisphysicalandmentalpowersismuchtooimperiousto
admitofhischoicebeinginvariablydeferredtothedeathofthe
rulingChief，ortoallowoftheelectionfallinguniversallyor
evengenerallyonhisson。’ItisacustomamongalltheIrish，’
saysSpenser，’thatpresentlyafterthedeathofanyoftheir
chieflordsorcaptains，theydopresentlyassemblethemselvesto
aplacegenerallyappointedandknownuntothemtochooseanother
inhisstead，wheretheydonominateandelectforthemostpart，
nottheeldestson，noranyofthechildrenofthelorddeceased，
butthenexttohimofbloodthatiseldestandworthiest，as
commonlythenextbrotherifhehaveany，orthenextcousin，and
soforth，asanyiselderinthatkindredorsept；andthen，next
tohim，theychoosethenextofthebloodtobeTanaist，who
shallsucceedhiminthesaidCaptaincyifhelivethereunto……
ForwhentheirCaptaindieth，iftheSignoryshoulddescendto
hischild，andheperhapsaninfant，anothermightperadventure
stepinbetweenorthrusthimoutbystronghandbeingthen
unabletodefendhisrightandtowithstandtheforceofa
forreiner；andthereforetheydoappointtheeldestofthekinto
havetheSignory，forthatcommonlyheisamanofstrongeryears
andbetterexperiencetomaintaintheinheritanceandtodefend
thecountry……AndtothisendtheTanaistisalwaysready
known，ifitshouldhappentotheCaptainsuddenlytodie，orto
beslaininbattle，ortobeoutofthecountry，todefendand
keepitfromallsuchdangers。’Spenser’s’ViewoftheStateof
Ireland。’
Primogeniture，therefore，consideredasaruleofsuccession
toproperty，appearstometobeaproductoftriballeadership
initsdecay。SomesuchsystemasthatrepresentedbytheIrish
Tanistrybelongedprobablyatonetimetoallthetribal
communitieswhichoverrantheRomanEmpire，butnoprecise
assertioncanbemadeastothestageintheirhistoryatwhich
itbegantobemodified，especiallysinceSohm’sinvestigations
inhis’Fr鋘kischeReichs-undGerichtsverfassung’haveshownus
howconsiderablythesocialorganisationofsomeofthese
communitieshadbeenaffectedbycentralorroyalauthorityin
theintervalbetweentheobservationsofTacitusandthewriting
oftheSalicLaw。ButIthinkwemaysafelyconjecturethatthe
transitionfromtheoldertothenewerPrimogenituretookplace
everywhereundercircumstancesnearlythereverseofthosewhich
keptTanistrysolongaliveinIreland。Whereversomedegreeof
internalpeacewasmaintainedduringtolerablylongperiodsof
time，whereveranapproachwasmadetotheformationofsocieties
ofthedistinctivemoderntype，wherevermilitaryandcivil
institutionsbegantogroupthemselvesroundthecentral
authorityofaking，thevalueofstrategicalcapacityinthe
humblerchiefswoulddiminish，andinthesmallerbrotherhoods
therespectforpurityofbloodwouldhaveuncheckedplay。The
mostnaturalobjectofthisrespectishewhomostdirectly
deriveshisbloodfromthelastruler，andthustheeldestson，
eventhoughaminor，comestobepreferredinthesuccessionto
hisuncle；and，indefaultofsons，thesuccessionmayeven
devolveonawoman。Therearenotafewindicationsthatthe
transformationofideaswasgradual。Thedisputesamonggreat
Highlandfamiliesaboutthetitletothechieftaincyof
particularclansappeartodatefromaperiodwhentherewas
stillaconflictbetweentheoldprincipleofsuccessionandthe
new；andatarelativelylaterperiod，whenthroughoutmostof