Salic law
major body of Frankish law governing all the Franks of Frankia under the rule of its kings during the Old Frankish Period
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Salic law was a comprehensive legal code that applied to all Frankish people living in Frankia during the early medieval period, establishing rules they had to follow under their kings. It matters because it represents one of the earliest and most influential written law codes of early medieval Europe, shaping how justice and social order were maintained in Frankish society.
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The Salic law (/ˈsælɪk/ or /ˈseɪlɪk/; Latin: Lex salica), also called the Salian law, was a Frankish civil law code compiled around 500 AD by Clovis, the first Frankish king. The name may refer to the Salii, or "Salian Franks", but this is debated. The written text is in Late Latin, and contains some of the earliest known instances of Old Dutch. It remained the basis of Frankish law throughout the early medieval period, and influenced future European legal systems. The best-known tenet of the old law is the principle of exclusion of women from inheritance of thrones, fiefs, and other property. The Salic laws were arbitrated by a committee appointed by the Frankish king. Dozens of manuscripts dating from the 6th to 8th centuries and three emendations as late as the 9th century have survived.
Salic law provided written codification of both civil law, such as the statutes governing inheritance, and criminal law, such as the punishment for murder. Although it was originally intended as the law of the Franks, it has had a formative influence on the tradition of statute law that extended to modern history in much of Europe, especially in the German states and Austria-Hungary in Central Europe, the Low Countries in Western Europe, Balkan kingdoms in Southeastern Europe, and parts of Italy and Spain in Southern Europe. Its use of agnatic succession governed the succession of kings in kingdoms such as France and Italy.