The institution of marriage is commonly thought to have fallen into crisis in late medieval northern France. While prior scholarship has identified the pervasiveness of clandestine marriage as the cause, Sara McDougall contends that the pressure came overwhelmingly from the prevalence of remarriage in violation of the Christian ban on divorce, a practice we might call "bigamy." Throughout the fifteenth century in Christian Europe, husbands and wives married to absent or distant spouses found new spouses to wed. In the church courts of northern France, many of the individuals so married...
The institution of marriage is commonly thought to have fallen into crisis in late medieval northern France. While prior scholarship has identified...
The stigmatization as 'bastards' of children born outside of wedlock is commonly thought to have emerged early in Medieval European history. Christian ideas about legitimate marriage, it is assumed, set the standard for legitimate birth. Children born to anything other than marriage had fewer rights or opportunities. They certainly could not become king or queen. As this volume demonstrates, however, well into the late twelfth century, ideas of what made a child a legitimate heir had little to do with the validity of his or her parents' union according to the dictates of Christian marriage...
The stigmatization as 'bastards' of children born outside of wedlock is commonly thought to have emerged early in Medieval European history. Christian...
Renowned legal historian, Charles Donahue, serves as the inspiration for this volume of essays covering a range of topics of interest to legal historians, legal scholars, and others. Inspired by Donahue's insights into the value of understanding both text and context, this volume brings together 26 contributions from leading historians in Europe and North America.
Renowned legal historian, Charles Donahue, serves as the inspiration for this volume of essays covering a range of topics of interest to legal hist...
