Borough English

Borough English is a custom that prevails in some ancient boroughs in England, according to which the youngest son inherits the heritable property within borough in preference to his elder brothers. The origin of this custom has not been satisfactorily determined. One reason assigned for it is, that the youngest son, on account of his tender age, is not so capable as his elder brothers to maintain himself. Another explanation is that it was the result of the so-called jus primæ noctis—a barbarous feudal custom by which a feudal overlord is said to have obtained the right of concubinage with the wife of his vassal on the night of her wedding; but the existence of this custom is more than doubtful. Maine suggested that it was derived from the Patria Potestas (q.v.); and Elton that it is a survival from pre-Celtic, pre-Aryan usages. A posthumous son is entitled to this privilege, and dispossesses his elder brother. The right of representation also exists with reference to it, for should the youngest son die in his father's lifetime leaving a daughter, she will inherit the property. This custom obtains in parts of Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex, Somerset, and more rarely elsewhere. See GAVELKIND, INHERITANCE, PRIMOGENITURE; and Elton's Origins of English History (1882).