> I am currently working on marriage in early medieval Ireland. In the
> Irish canon law collection of the 8c known as the Hibernensis, the canon
> lawyers have used the Old Testament to justify concubinage and polygyny
> which were apparently common practices amongst the Irish aristocracy.
> More generally, the Irish canon lawyers found justification for many
> other Irish practices, such as marriage within the bounds of
> consanguinity, in the Old Testament. Was this a common device in other
> countries in general and specifically with regard to marriage? (This is
> really directed at you Professor Brundage)
more general question: if we have some cases where the clergy is
sollicitous of aristocratic marriage habits, finding justification for
them in the HB (for ex), and others where they are most aggressively
pressing a purist agenda which conflicts with aristocratic patterns (eg
the attacks on Robert II of France and generally throughout the 11th cn),
can we characterize when and how the shift occurs, and can it go both ways?
rlandes
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|