Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Adultery
(1,039 words)

1. The act

Normally in the modern period, the act of adultery could be committed by both married women and married men. Under criminal (see below 2) and civil law (see below 3) alike, adultery had consequences that might vary both regionally and between men and women. The understanding of the act in the modern period was marked by Christian conceptions. Married men and women alike might commit adultery if they infringed their obligations of loyalty arising from the marriage sacrament (Marriage) by having …

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Scholz-Löhnig, Cordula, “Adultery”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_018546>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20160321



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