Divorce in the 8th Century

From the Law of the Couple (Cáin Lánamna), an Irish compilation that dates to around AD 800, comes this list of the reasons for which a wife can divorce her husband:

• Sterility
• Impotence
• Entrance into Holy Orders
• Entrance into the Church
• Loss of property/Inability to provide
• Obesity
• Revealing secrets of the bedroom
• Spreading slander or lies about her
• Spreading mocking songs or poems about her
• Unjust chastisement that leaves a mark
• Abandonment for another woman
• Homosexuality
• Admitting to use of magic or other means to steal her affections
• Inability to provide for her daily needs