Wednesday, February 16, 2011

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

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