Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Concubinage
(1,119 words)

1. Concept

The term concubinage in the early modern period denoted the cohabitation of man and woman out of wedlock. It derived from Roman law (Latin concubinatus), in which it stood for a legally recognized form of permanent extramarital sexual communion. It lost this legal recognition in the Late Middle Ages under the influence of Christian concepts of marriage and opposition to married clergy. This development continued …

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Scholz-Löhnig, Cordula, “Concubinage”, 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_022517>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170206



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