Description

This book offers a chronological and geographical study of royal divorce cases from the Middle Ages through to the Reformation period. In a chronological and geographical study of royal divorce cases from the Middle Ages through to the Reformation, d'Avray offers a truly comparative perspective on elite divorce, tracing its evolution over time, and providing original translations of documents which illuminate the canon law arguments on which the cases were built. In a chronological and geographical study of royal divorce cases from the Middle Ages through to the Reformation, d'Avray offers a truly comparative perspective on elite divorce, tracing its evolution over time, and providing original translations of documents which illuminate the canon law arguments on which the cases were built. Dissolving Royal Marriages adopts a unique chronological and geographical perspective to present a comparative overview of royal divorce cases from the Middle Ages through to the Reformation period. Drawing from original translations of key source documents, the book sheds new light on some of the most prominent and elite divorce proceedings in Western history, including Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon. The comprehensive commentary that accompanies these materials allows readers to grasp, for the first time, how the constructs of canon law helped shape the legal arguments on which specific cases were founded, and better understand the events that actually unfolded in the courtrooms. In his case-by-case exploration of elaborate witness statements, extensive legal negotiations and political wrangling, d'Avray shows us how little the canonical law for the dissolution of marriage changed over time in this fascinating new study of Church-state relations and papal power over princes. Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Lothar, Theutberga and Waldrada; 2. Robert II of France and Bertha; 3. Philip I of France and Bertrada; 4. Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII of France; 5. King John of England and Isabelle of Gloucester; 6. Philip II Augustus of France and Ingeborg of Denmark; 7. Pere II of Aragon and Maria of Montpellier; 8. Jaume I of Aragon and Lyonor; 9. Sancho of Portugal and Mécia Lopes de Haro ('Mentia Lupi'); 10. Henry III of England and Jeanne of Ponthieu; 11. Plaisance of Cyprus and Balian; 12. Alfonso III of Portugal and Mathilda of Boulogne; 13. Jaume I of Aragon and Terisia; 14. Charles IV of France and Blanche: the law of Godparenthood; 15. Charles IV and Blanche: the annulment process; 16. Maximilian I, Anne of Brittany, and Charles VIII of France; 17. Louis XII of France and Jeanne; 18. Margaret of Scotland and Archibald Douglas the Earl of Angus; 19. Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon; 20. Henri IV of France and Marguerite de Valois.