The Divorce of Lothar II: Christian Marriage and Political Power in the Carolingian World

by Karl J. Heidecker, Tanis Guest (Translator)

Overview

"She declares, so the bishops will write in their report on the council, that she is unworthy to continue as a married woman. 'Before God and his angels' she bares her heart and confesses to them 'every secret relating to the rumor that had arisen.' The 'rumor'—as will become apparent—concerns her sexual relations with her brother. True, the 'inner wound' which she 'confesses' to God and the bishops was not dealt her of her own volition but under duress, but it is in any event so terrible that she no longer feels herself worthy to share a royal or a marital bed or to marry anyone at all. The bishops and abbots allow her, as she had supposedly requested, to enter a convent."—from The Divorce of Lothar II

The Divorce of Lothar II illuminates the origin and development of Western notions of marriage and divorce and the separation of church and state in the context of a notorious royal divorce in late Carolingian Europe. In 857, Lothar II, king of Lotharingia, decided to divorce Theutberga—either because she had allegedly engaged in an incestuous liaison with her brother or simply because Lothar had wished to marry his concubine Waldrada. Karl Heidecker's dramatic and engaging narrative untangles the chaos that resulted: two popes, a host of often quarreling bishops, and Lothar's conniving uncles soon became involved in an epic struggle that did not end even with the death of Lothar.The extraordinary series of events sheds light on the fact that the laws on marriage and divorce were still uncertain. The Church itself was hardly unified in its approach, and its efforts to formulate and impose rules repeatedly foundered against the political machinations characteristic of the Carolingian world. In The Divorce of Lothar II, Heidecker not only discusses the legal aspects of the case but also pays much attention to the often heavy-handed ways in which the players of the story achieved their goals.This ninth-century scandal becomes a study of family dynamics, changing values, and the tenuous relationships between kings, nobles, and bishops around the topic of royal marriage. Though the drama ended with no clear resolution of the Church's position, Lothar's quest is revealed as an early chapter in the emergence of the belief that marriage rests on the personal will of the partners, is monogamous, and should not be dissolved.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801439292
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	02/15/2010
Series:	Conjunctions of Religion and Power in the Medieval Past
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Karl Heidecker is University Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Groningen. He is coauthor of Die Privaturkunden der Karolingerzeit, editor of Charters and the Use of the Written Word in Medieval Society, and coeditor of Chartae Latinae Antiquiores of St. Gall. Tanis M. Guest is the translator of books including In the Shadow of Burgundy.

What People are Saying About This

Walter Simons

"This is a solid analysis of an intriguing episode in Late Carolingian history that not only examines the juridical aspects of the case but also pays much attention to realpolitik. In Heidecker's lucid treatment, the ninth-century scandal becomes a fascinating study of family dynamics, changing mental attitudes, and Carolingian reform. Most of all, Heidecker exposes the tensions between crown and nobility, Church and state, when it came to royal marriage. The crisis caused by Lothar's divorce prompted a major attempt by the Church to impose its rules on marriage at the expense of Germanic and aristocratic concepts of family alliances, in itself a major development in European notions of monogamous marriage."

Editorial Reviews

Heidecker provides an accessible, lucid, and well-researched account of this notorious affair.... Now that Heidecker's valuable contribution to the history of politics, marriage, and law in the Carolingian world is available in English, it should gain the wider audience it deserves. The inclusion of some relatively long source selections, with original Latin passages in footnotes, makes the book ideal for graduate seminars. The book’s genealogical charts are indispensible for understanding the text, especially for anyone not well versed in this period of Carolingian history.

Early Medieval Europe - Valerie L. Garver

Heidecker argues that Lothar's divorce action was a critical episode in the development of the medieval matrimonial doctrines that defined marriage as monogamous and indissoluble, His judgment is borne out by the dozen or so reference to the case in the Decretum Gratiani.... His narrative flows smoothly and his analysis of the whole affair is cogent. Heidecker's work represents a welcome and important contribution to the history of medieval marriage doctrine, as well as to the history of the later Carolingian monarchy.

Journal of Ecclesiastical History - James A. Brundage

"Heidecker argues that Lothar's divorce action was a critical episode in the development of the medieval matrimonial doctrines that defined marriage as monogamous and indissoluble, His judgment is borne out by the dozen or so reference to the case in the Decretum Gratiani. . . . His narrative flows smoothly and his analysis of the whole affair is cogent. Heidecker's work represents a welcome and important contribution to the history of medieval marriage doctrine, as well as to the history of the later Carolingian monarchy."—James A. Brundage, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, January 2011

"Heidecker provides an accessible, lucid, and well-researched account of this notorious affair . . . . Now that Heidecker's valuable contribution to the history of politics, marriage, and law in the Carolingian world is available in English, it should gain the wider audience it deserves. The inclusion of some relatively long source selections, with original Latin passages in footnotes, makes the book ideal for graduate seminars. The book’s genealogical charts are indispensible for understanding the text, especially for anyone not well versed in this period of Carolingian history."—Valerie L. Garver, Early Medieval Europe (Vol. 19, No. 3, 2011)

"This is a solid analysis of an intriguing episode in Late Carolingian history that not only examines the juridical aspects of the case but also pays much attention to realpolitik. In Heidecker's lucid treatment, the ninth-century scandal becomes a fascinating study of family dynamics, changing mental attitudes, and Carolingian reform. Most of all, Heidecker exposes the tensions between crown and nobility, Church and state, when it came to royal marriage. The crisis caused by Lothar's divorce prompted a major attempt by the Church to impose its rules on marriage at the expense of Germanic and aristocratic concepts of family alliances, in itself a major development in European notions of monogamous marriage."—Walter Simons, Dartmouth College

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