On Wed, 13 Aug 1997, Jo Ann McNamara wrote:
>
> >
> To clarify what I originally said to Conway: Michael is quite right in
> saying that the church classed a marriage with a stepmother as incest.
> However, at least once, Anglo-Saxon royals behaved otherwise. The
> daughter of Charles the Bald, Judith, married Alfred the Great's father
> and then his son who promptly died. Alfred took this as a warning and
> did not take her up whereupon she returned home in disgrace. I suggested
> that other instances where Anglo-Saxon kings married the former king's
> wife (like Canute and Emma) might suggest that this was a remnant of an
> old pre-Christian custom which other early kings might have violated. I
> believe Bede tends to hide the sexual peccadillos of his monarchs and in
> the case of Saberht, this might provide a solution to Conway's
> genealogical problem.
>
> Jo Ann
>
>
>
Interesting, Jo Ann. I'm curious as to clerical reactions to such
marriages. Cd it be that they considered christianization so tenuous that
they chose to tolerate a custom (which after all did not include blood
incest) in the interest of avoiding conflict? Are there any similar
instances of toleration in other newly converted areas? BTW, I forggot to
mention in my previous post that Isidore of Seville's tree of
consanguinity was ubiquitious throughout the MA's-- you find it in
innumerable canon law collections. Anyway, I find your examples
facinating.
Mike
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