Lex Salica

The Salic law, or law of the Salian Franks, a Teutonic race who settled in Gaul in the fifth century. This ancient code, said to have been compiled about the year 420, embraced the laws and customs of that people, and is of great historical value, in connection with the origins of feudalism and similar subjects. Its most celebrated provision was one which excluded women from the inheritance of landed estates, by an extension of which law females were always excluded from succession to the crown of France. Hence this provision, by itself, is often referred to as the "Salic Law."