Dear bill
on the second part, about fortune telling, I can say that inquisitorial
manuals in the thirteenth and early fourteenth century do specify that
'sortilege' is a sin/crime, and southern French synodal statutes also make
this statement. But, as you say, this did not mean that it was not
practiced... I think that the answer is therefore part of the wider
question of how homogenous 'the Church' and its 'rules' were in the
middle ages...
cheers
john arnold
On Mon, 2 Mar 1998, Bill Netherton wrote:
> 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
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
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