The Lord's First Night: The Myth of the Droit de Cuissage

by Alain Boureau

Book Overview

From the late Middle Ages to The Marriage of Figaro to Mel Gibson's Braveheart, the ultimate symbol of feudal barbarism has been the droit de cuissage, or right of a feudal lord to sleep with the bride of a vassal on her wedding night. The droit de cuissage even resurfaced in the debate over the French Penal Code of 1992 as a synonym for sexual harassment.

But, as Alain Boureau elegantly demonstrates in this book,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226067432
• ISBN13: 9780226067438
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 8.9"