Patrilineal or agnatic succession gives priority to or restricts inheritance of a
throne or
fief to male heirs descended from the original title holder through males only. Traditionally, agnatic succession is applied in determining the names and membership of European
dynasties. The prevalent forms of
dynastic succession in Europe, Asia and parts of Africa were
male-preference primogeniture,
agnatic primogeniture, or
agnatic seniority until after
World War II. The agnatic succession model, also known as
Salic law, meant the total exclusion of women as hereditary monarchs and restricted succession to thrones and inheritance of fiefs or land to men in parts of medieval and later Europe. This form of strict agnatic inheritance has been officially revoked in all extant European monarchies except the
Principality of Liechtenstein. By the 21st century, most ongoing European monarchies had replaced their traditional agnatic succession with
absolute primogeniture, meaning that the first child born to a monarch inherits the throne, regardless of the child's sex. ==Genetic genealogy==