The old chesnut of the "droit de seigneur" (the lord getting first crack at new brides) is another one of those Medieval myths. While this probably did happen on occassion, the heavy hand of the Church would never permit such a practice to have the legitimacy of law or recognized custom. The local lords were prone to chase after the more comely local females before, and often after, the girls got married. These young women were not all that resistant to these advances, as bearing a noble bastard had its advantages. For one thing, many noble families looked after their "natural children." Many a well-connected bastard did quite well in the service of their noble kinfolk. Indeed, the conqueror of England in 1066, Duke William of Normandy ("William the Bastard, " behind his back) was the result of one such dailliance. However, in this case, his father actually eventually married William's mother, who otherwise would have married some commoner willing to make a match with the tanner's "spoiled" daughter.