This book investigates the earliest known prosecutions of bigamy. In fifteenth-century Champagne, ordinary Christians valued marriage enough to risk criminal prosecution for illegal remarriage. Meanwhile, Church officials regarded bigamy as a grave threat to Christian identity and subjected male bigamists to harsh punishment.

Bigamy and Christian Identity in Late Medieval Champagne

Sara McDougall

2012 | 240 pages | Cloth $55.00
History | Religion
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Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1. Marriage and Remarriage in the Later Middle Ages: Law, Theology, and Culture
Chapter 2. Bigamous Husbands
Chapter 3. Abandoned Wives
Chapter 4. Why Commit Bigamy?
Chapter 5. Why Prosecute Bigamy?
Conclusion

Appendix. Selected Transcriptions from a Register of the Officiality of Troyes

Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments