streitpaar – Verfahren in Ehesachen
Frühneuzeit-Info 26 (2015)
Erscheinungsdatum: November 2015
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Teil 2 der Vorschau stellt die Beiträge von Johann Weißensteiner und Iris Fleßenkämper vor:

Böswilliges Verlassen und „tolerierte“ Partnerschaften im katholischen Bereich
Die Entscheidungspraxis des Passauer Offizialates in Wien von 1558 bis 1592
Johann Weißensteiner
(in German language)

In examining the records of marriage litigation at the consistory of the diocese of Passau in Vienna (established in the 14th century for the parts of the diocese Passau situated in the archduchy of Lower Austria) for the period 1558–1592 the author made the observation, that there was a lot of cases, in which abandoned spouses, whose mates had disappeared without their knowledge and consent, and lived since some years together with a new partner, asked for permission to remarry. Although they got not the license for a second marriage, their new partnership was tolerated. Such couples usually got a certificate by the consistory about this toleration and were also permitted to receive the eucharist in the churches. This practice, which was also common in the dioceses of Freising and Regensburg and in other parts of Europe, lasted till 1579. On 12 October of this year two prominent Jesuit fathers forced the consistory of the diocese of Passau in Vienna to stop this practice. The decision can be seen as an act of “social disciplining” by which the Catholics enforced their particular rules for all aspects of life and so also in the field of family life. Indeed the appointment of the later cardinal and bishop of Vienna Melchior Klesl as official of the diocese of Passau in Vienna was the startup of the Counter Reformation in the Habsburg countries. Thus since 1580 catholic spouses, who were separated from their former mates, did no more get a license to live in a new partnership unless they could proof the natural death of their former husband or wife. At the same time in protestant villages in Lower Austria some landlords in similar cases divorced the first marriage and permitted the abandoned part to remarry.

Wann ist mein Mann mein Mann?
Zur Gültigkeit von Eheschließungen in der protestantischen
Grafschaft Lippe im 17. Jahrhundert
Iris Fleßenkämper
(in German language)

The legal and social conceptions of marriage profoundly changed within the course of the German Reformation. In denying the sacramentality of marriage, Luther and his followers re-interpreted marriage, family, and sexuality as genuinely worldly affairs and attached them to the realm of the earthly kingdom. The Lutheran reforms of marriage resulted from the need to overcome fundamental contradictions of Canon law with regard to the legitimacy of clandestine marriage formations. In this paper I will ask for the influence Protestant marriage reforms had on the culture of norms and jurisdiction in the Protestant County of Lippe, Germany, and I will explore the roles and functions of the clergy in implementing these reforms. Various marriage-related cases brought before the local consistory court show that the new regulations concerning marriage formation were neither thoroughly enforced by court nor observed by the subjects. Following the legal practice of former episcopal marriage courts, the consistory of Lippe still adhered to principles and concepts of common law that had already been prevalent in medieval times.

streitpaar – Verfahren in Ehesachen
Frühneuzeit-Info 26 (2015)
Erscheinungsdatum: November 2015

Die diesjährige Ausgabe der Frühneuzeit-Info widmet sich dem Themenschwerpunkt Ehekonflikte und richtet den Fokus auf die vielfältigen, oft komplex ineinander verstrickten Gerichtsverfahren vor kirchlichen und weltlichen Ehegerichten sowie die darin von den Streitparteien (respektive deren Anwälten) vorgebrachten Konfliktfelder. Der obrigkeitliche Umgang mit „eigenmächtigen Trennungen“ und bigamen Verbindungen sowie die Frage nach den Trennungs- bzw. Scheidungsfolgen bilden weitere Schwerpunkte des Heftes.

Die Zeitschrift wird in wenigen Wochen erscheinen. Bis dahin wollen wir interessierten Lesern und Leserinnen wöchentlich zwei der insgesamt zwölf Beiträge vorstellen. Den Anfang machen Bronach Kane und Duane Henderson mit je einem Beitrag zum Spätmittelalter:

Courtship, Childbearing & Gender in Late Medieval England
Bronach Kane
(in English language)

Existing studies of premarital pregnancy in late medieval English society have focused on manorial fines imposed on sex and childbearing before marriage, as well as the Church’s attempts to channel sexual activity into the bonds of matrimony. This article uses extensive litigation from the church courts to argue that, while childbearing mattered little under formal canon law, pregnancy and parenthood were integral to narratives of courtship and marriage in practice. For female plaintiffs in particular, discourses of stability, cohabiting, and love underpinned legal arguments to enforce marriage contracts. Male parties could, in turn, exploit cultural perceptions to depict sexual relationships as temporary and based solely on desire. Despite these gendered patterns, young women could appropriate and reconfigure cultural models that were hostile to female sexuality in order to advance claims of marriage. Ultimately, this article argues that the discursive agency exercised by female plaintiffs and deponents suggests that gendered models were more flexible in social practice where courtship and childbearing were concerned.

Der unglückliche Bund
Zur Praxis der gerichtlichen Ehetrennung vor dem
Freisinger Offizialat im Spätmittelalter
Duane Henderson
(in German language)

The paper investigates the practice of marriage separations “from bed and board” (a mensa et thoro) at the bishop’s court of Freising at the end of the fifteenth century. Beginning with a brief summary of the position of late-medieval canon law and legal opinion defining the grounds for a separation “from bed and board” and regulating its modalities, the study points out the extent of regional and individual variations in the application of these rules as has been revealed by recent research. On this evidence it becomes apparent that the medieval practice of marriage separation must primarily be studied at the local jurisdictional level, such as is documented in the records of the consistorial court of Freising (1424/1462-1524). Drawing from this both detailed and comprehensive source material, the paper presents the case study of a prolonged marital conflict which was pursued in a series of legal suits from 1476 to 1481. In its various phases, this court battle addresses the major legal and social questions involved in late-medieval marital separation cases in Freising and reveals the problems and advantages of a legal settlement.

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