Primogeniture. Since the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century, it was presumed that kings would simply pass the power to rule to their first-born son. This line of succession, known as primogeniture, was also used to determine non-royal heirs to property and wealth.

When was the law of primogeniture created?

By the fourteenth century practically all free tenures were subject to primogeniture. In 1540 the British Parliament passed a statute that allowed owners of land held in fee simple, as well as many feudal tenures, to pass their holdings to persons other than their eldest sons by will.

When did primogeniture start in Europe?

Primogeniture is an inheritance rule that assigns the entire family estate to the first son. In Europe primogeniture emerged in the thirteenth century and kept spreading up to the eighteenth century. It was most common among the feudal nobility and whenever land represented the primary source of wealth.