— Also termed marcheta; marchetum; merchet; mercheta; merchetum; maiden rent. See DROIT DU SEIGNEUR.
“Any service which stamps the tenant as an unfree man, stamps his tenure as unfree; and in common opinion such services there are, notably the merchetum. Now among the thousands of entries in English documents relating to this payment, it would we believe be utterly impossible to find one which gave any sanction to the tales of a ius primae noctis. The context in which this duty is usually mentioned explains at least one of the reasons which underlie it. The tenant may not give his daughter (in some cases his son or daughter) in marriage — at least not outside the manor …. No doubt a subjection to this restraint was regarded as very base, and sometimes it is described in vigourous words which express a free man’s loathing for servility: — ‘he must buy, he must make ransom for, his flesh and blood.’ ” 1 Frederick Pollock & Frederic W. Maitland, The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward I 372 (2d ed. 1898).
