Hi, I asked in the Historical lounge, but thought I'd check here too, without wanting to spam! I want to know what 12th century canon law would say about two young people who want to marry against their parents' will. I assume canon law would say they should obey their parents even if they have made promises to each other, those promises would not be valid? Would it be any different if they had consummated their relationship?
Thanks for any replies or messages!
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Yes the pic is a stavechurch, in case anyone wondered!
5,174 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 11 25
It would really depend on if the family was noble or peasent. Peasents could marry for love. Royals, when let's just say that princesses were little more than dipolmatic bargaining chips. As far as the churc goes. that also could widely differ from region to region depending on what the local authority said and interpreted.
You could have the local priest be okay with it and on the couple's side only to have a bishop or archbishop hear of it and step in on the parent's side.
3,002 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 15 31
If you are going at this from a Catholic perspective, you will probably have to focus on the "Compilatio tertia" of Pope Innocent III in 1210, and the "Compilatio quinta" of Pope Honorius III, in 1226, and both Lateran Ecumenical Councils (one in 1179 and the other in 1215), as well as a supplementary work known as the "Decretum", and there are some "Decretals" by following Popes (esp. Pope Gregory IX) as well. It wasn't quite as simple as the Code of Canon Law we have today.
You might also find these links helpful:
On the Moral and Canonical Aspect of Marriage: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09699a.htm
On the Validation of Marriage: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15256c.htm
43,113 / 50,000
nov. 5, 2009 - 08 11
Thanks for the comments. The girl is upper peasant, which in medieval Norway is not very different from lower nobility. The boy is from a poorer family, which is why her father won't agree, more because he doesn't want his grandchildren to starve. He already has a son who will inherit his farm, so leaving her that is not an option with their inheritance laws.
Anyway, the young man in question has rather pre-empted the question by getting drunk, pleading with her father, being refused outright and flying into a rage, attacking him! Characters that get out of hand!! What can you do? It was a fun scene to write :) But the bishop won't be impressed!
----------Yes the pic is a stavechurch, in case anyone wondered!
0 / 50,000
nov. 6, 2009 - 14 39
Prior to the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215, which made marriage into a sacrament to be performed by a priest, all anybody needed to be legally married was the consent of both partners - whether or not there were any witnesses. If your two characters already eloped, agreed to be married, and even consummated the relationship, they are married.
So what does the bishop do? It depends on whether you want him to be a good or a bad character in relation to your MCs. He can attempt to help the family reconcile. Or he can side with the parents and look for a reason to invalidate (annul) the marriage. The only grounds for annulment I can think of are bigamy (if one or the other had already contracted marriage with someone else previously), consanguinity (meaning your FMC and MMC are too closely related by blood - like marrying a cousin - but I assume you don't want this to be the case in your story), or if one or the other marriage partner is impotent (again, I'll guess you don't want this to be the case).
If the father of the bride is really opposed to the marriage, he can charge your MMC with abduction (and consequent defloration). I'm not sure what penalties that would carry if found guilty. A large fine? Temporary imprisonment? Usually the abductor is forced to marry the abductee, so in the end, the characters would still be legally married.