_Solinus_, indeed, says that the women in
Thule were common, the king having a free choice; and _Dio_ says the
Caledonians had wives in common; yet these assertions may well be
disputed. _Strabo_ describes the Irish as extremely gross in this
matter; _O'Conner_ says polygamy was permitted; and _Derrick_ tells us
they exchanged wives once or twice a year; while _Campion_ says they
only married for a year and a day, sending their wives home again for
any slight offense.--_Logan's Scottish Gael_, 5th Am. ed., p. 472.
[2] _A History of the Highlands, and of the Highland Clans_, etc. (Jas.
Browne, LL.D., Advocate, 4 vols. London, 1853), IV, 398.
"The law of marriage observed in the Highlands has frequently been as
little understood as that of succession, and similar misconceptions have
prevailed regarding it. This was, perhaps, to be expected. In a country
where a bastard son was often found in undisturbed possession of the
chiefship or property of a clan, and where such bastard generally
received the support of the clansmen against the claims of the feudal
heir, it was natural to suppose that very loose notions of succession
were entertained by the people; that legitimacy conferred no exclusive
rights; and that the title founded on birth alone might be set aside in
favor of one having no other claim than that of election.
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