1. Definition
Morganatic marriage, also known as left-handed marriage, made it possible for men of the high nobility to marry a woman of inferior rank (Equal birth, principle of) and thus legitimate his cohabitation with her without permitting her to enjoy his privileges or property rights. This form of marriage thus existed in early modern Europe predominantly as a legal institution of princely law (Privatfürstenrecht) [1. 180]; [3. 16, 18, 32ff.].