Marriage on Trial: Late Medieval German Couples at the Papal Court

413 Pages·2012·2.964 MB·English

by  Ludwig Schmugge

Marriage on Trial
Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Canon Law
Kenneth Pennington, General Editor
Editorial Advisory Board
Uta-Renate Blumenthal, The Catholic University of America
Giles Constable, Institute for Advanced Study
Richard Helmholz, University of Chicago
John E. Lynch, The Catholic University of America
Robert Somerville, Columbia University
Brian Tierney, Cornell University
Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Canon Law
VoLUME 10
Marriage on Trial
Late Medieval German Couples
at the Papal Court
Ludwig Schmugge

Translated by Atria A. Larson
The Catholic University of America Press
Washington, D.C.
originally published in German as Ehen vor Gericht:
Paare der Renaissance vor dem Papst
© Berlin University Press, 2008.
Copyright © 2012
The Catholic University of America Press
All rights reserved
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum
requirements of American National Standards for Information
Science—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials,
ANSI Z39.48-1984.
∞
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schmugge, Ludwig.
[Ehen vor Gericht. English]
Marriage on trial : late medieval German couples at the papal
court / Ludwig Schmugge ; translated by Atria A. Larson.
p. cm. — (Studies in medieval and early modern canon law ;
v. 10)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8132-2017-8 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Marriage
(Canon law)—History—16th century. 2. Papal courts—History
—16th century. 3. Marriage customs and rites—History—
16th century. I. Larson, Atria A. II. Title.
HQ1051.S3613 2013
346.01’6—dc23 2012030750
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Translator's Acknowledgments ix
Preface to the English Translation xi
Acknowledgements for the German Edition xvii
List of Abbreviations xix
Introduction 1
1. The Treasures of the Papal Pardon office 4
2. Marriage Law in the Supplications 55
3. Stories from the Roman Supplications 99
4. Marriage Processes in German Courts 250
5. Conclusion 337
Appendix: Fees and Composition Payments for 353
Marriage Dispensations
Select Bibliography 355
Index of Manuscripts 369
Index of Legal Citations 371
General Index 379

List of Illustrations
Tables
1. Forms of Signatures for Marital Dispensations 15
2. Average Composition Payments in the Chancery and
Penitentiary 49
3. Supplications in the Penitentiary from the German Bishoprics 334
A1. Fees for Marriage Dispensations, c.1450–1513 353
A2. Costs for Compositions under Pope Paul II (1464–1471) 354
Graphs
1. Number of Supplications about Marriage Issues per Year,
1455–1492 and 1500 11
2. Number of Marriage Supplications per Bishopric 12
3. Frequency of Marital Impediments from Sponsorship at
Baptisms and Confirmations 73
4. Cases involving an Impediment of Kinship 78
5. Distribution of Marital Impediments 79
6. Distribution of Biological Kinship by Diocese 79
7. Legitimization of Children 89
8. Legitimization of Children by Diocese 89
9. Public and Clandestine Contraction of Marriage 93
10. Clandestine and Public Marriages by Diocese 93
11. Involvement of Diocesan Courts 114
12. References to Diocesan Courts 115
13. Penitentiary Supplications from the Bishopric of Constance 259
vii
viii Illustrations
14. Penitentiary Supplications from Chur 289
15. Dispensations for the Continuation of Marriages Despite
an Impediment 349
Figures
1. A pope sits in judgment over a couple kneeling before him xxii
2. Littera ecclesiae issued by the German minor penitentiary,
Johannes Calp, for a pilgrim from the Skara bishopric in Sweden 7
3. The seal of the major penitentiary with the inscription Sigillum
officii sacre penitentiarie apostolice 8
4. original supplication for a dispensation from the fourth degree
of consanguinity of a Swedish couple 25
5. The vicar general of Bishop Hermann of Constance grants
Eberhard of Wurttemberg and Elisabeth of Brandenburg
absolution and dispensation for their marriage contracted in
the knowledge of their consanguinity in the third degree 52
6. Section of a page from Pope Calixtus III’s register of
supplications 119
7. Pope Paul II frees Guta von Wertheim from her profession in
the monastery of Königsfeld, which she had made under force 196
8. Littera from the major penitentiary, Philippus, to the bishop
of Chur granting absolution and dispensation for Guta
von Wertheim 197
9. Mandate to Bishop Hermann von Konstance to carry out
Paul II’s bull for Guta von Wertheim 199
10. Expert opinion of Dr. Baldasar Mansfelt from Munich in a
case of impotence 224
11. Dispensation of the papal legate, Cardinal Besarion, for Ulrich
von Württemberg and Margarete von Savoyen for a marriage
unknowingly contracted in the third degree of relations 238
12. Beginning of the case of Schmid, Tanner 270
13. Case of Hoffstetter, Remishueberin 271
14. Heinrich Hofstetter’s statement 273
15. Record of the testimony of Ellina Tannerin 274
16. Record of Johannes Inhelder’s statement 276
17. Statement of Johannes Inhelder in the vernacular 276
Translator’s Acknowledgments
For a person who usually translates texts written by men who
have been in their graves for hundreds of years, it was a genuine
pleasure and enlightening experience to translate a text by a living
author. Whether in his home country, Switzerland, or in his home
away from home, Rome, Professor Schmugge was always just an
email away, and, despite suffering an unfortunate illness and fac-
ing difficult days of rehabilitation during the time when I translat-
ed his Ehen vor Gericht, he was always quick to respond and eager to
stay involved in the process. He also read a draft of my translation in
its entirety. I am most thankful to him for his tireless efforts. I hope
that my translation does justice to his fascinating book and succeeds
in making the immense amount of scholarship reflected in it avail-
able to English speakers and readers.
Two other distinguished scholars of medieval canon law also de-
serve recognition. Stanley Chodorow read a complete draft of the
translation, and his notes and emendations enabled me to produce
a final text that reads in English far better than it would have oth-
erwise. Wolfgang Müller, a native German who has now resided in
the United States for many years and whose English vocabulary far
surpasses my own, devoted many hours to this project. Because of
his facility in both German and English and his work alongside Pro-
fessor Schmugge in the records of the papal penitentiary, he was
uniquely suited to answer my questions and resolve my uncertain-
ties about the text. His linguistic and scholarly input was invaluable.
ix