Two questions:
For fun, I'm reading a novel by Melvyn Bragg called _The Sword and the
Cross_. (I think it was published in England under the title _Credo_.) At
any rate, in this novel, set in the 7th C., several of the male Christian
characters have concubines and slave girls, a la the Hebrew Scriptures,
by which they defend their "polygamy." (Actually, these characters
have only one wife, so I guess "polygamy" is inaccurate. But they do
have multiple sexual partners.) Question one, then: were such multiple
sexual relationships practised by English and Celtic Christians this late;
were they sanctioned by the church; and if they were, when were they
forbidden?
Question two:
In discussing Chaucer's "Prologue" to the _Canterbury Tales_ , a student
raised a question I have often wondered about. Why was astrology
permitted (and at times, seemingly, promoted) by the Church in medieval
times, when fortune telling is so clearly forbidden in the Hebrew
Scriptures? I looked in a few sources, but failed to find an adequate
answer.
Thanks.
Bill Netherton
Amarillo, Texas--USA
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