I recall a documentary a number of years ago, regarding the position of women in society in the British Isles around the time of the intoduction of Cathoicism. If my memory serves me correctly, primogenature re: the eldest son, was not the dominant thought, as it was generally regarded among the Brits and Celts, that a father could not be certain if his son was truly his son, but the mother certainly knew.

As a consequence, women wielded considerable economic power and control of land. The Church, and other powers that be of the time, put considerable effort into divesting them of their power and the accusation of witchcraft was one of the methods. In fact there was a vote amongst a Synod of Bishops, or some such thing, around that time, to determine if women could be considered as beings in possession of a soul. The vote narrowly passed and only through support of Bishops from the far western fringes of Europe.

If anyone with a better memory or knowledge of history would care to add more, please do.