Papers by Charlotte Christensen-Nugues
Cultures of Early Modern Europe; (2021), Feb 12, 2021
A short biography of the most prominent medical writer in medieval Scandinavia. His life, works a... more A short biography of the most prominent medical writer in medieval Scandinavia. His life, works and influence on Scandinavian medical history
Private/Public in 18th-Century Scandinavia, 2021
Clio, 2006
A presentation of Janken Myrdals book "Den predikande raven" (The preaching fox) which ... more A presentation of Janken Myrdals book "Den predikande raven" (The preaching fox) which analyses the images in a late medieval illuminated manuscript of King Magnus Erikssons Law of the Realm.
The Sixteenth Century Journal: The Journal of Early Modern Studies, 2014
After a long debate the Council of Trent decided against the validity of marriages contracted inf... more After a long debate the Council of Trent decided against the validity of marriages contracted informally, without a public ceremony. Marriages without parental consent, however, remained valid. Tese decisions are frequently described as a pragmatic compromise, where one controversial reform was rejected in favor of another, equally controversial. Yet there was, as this article will show, a significant difference in how the delegates addressed the questions of publicity and parental consent. While the discussion of the former mostly concerned how (not if) a reform could be carried out, the discussion of the latter concerned the very principle of mandatory parental consent. The ensuing debate reflects the clash between two opposing views of marriage in sixteenth-century Europe: on the one hand, the couple-oriented, consensualist conception of classical canon law; and on the other, the family-oriented conception of both Protestant and Catholic reformers with its emphasis on order, stab...
The chapter gives a survey of familyrelated topics (betrothal, marriage, property devolution, chi... more The chapter gives a survey of familyrelated topics (betrothal, marriage, property devolution, childrearing) in medieval Sweden.
According to medieval canon law, a marriage could be declared invalid if the consent had been giv... more According to medieval canon law, a marriage could be declared invalid if the consent had been given through force or fear. This ruling was a natural consequence of the insistence on free consent as the only requirement for a valid marriage. It did, however, entail a number of both practical and theoretical problems. It could be difficult to prove force and fear within the family, but also to define what should count as sufficient force and fear to render a marriage non valid. In Roman law, the fictional figure of the ”constant man” was used to determine different degrees of coercion. The constant man standard was however difficult to use in marriage cases that often involved very young people, dependent on those most likely to use force and fear against them In this article, I examine - through the development of papal legislation in force and fear cases and their subsequent commentary - how the constant man standard was reinterpreted during the Middle Ages, and how social reality a...
Under 1100-talets sista halft faststalldes inom kanonisk ratt principen att makarnas samtycke ens... more Under 1100-talets sista halft faststalldes inom kanonisk ratt principen att makarnas samtycke ensamt ar tillrackligt for att skapa ett giltigt aktenskap. Varken familj eller andra auktoriteter, inte ens kyrkliga, hade laglig bestammanderatt over tva personers giftermal. Ett aktenskap kunde ingas pa tva satt, antingen genom verba de presenti, lofte for det nuvarande, som med omedelbar verkan skapade ett giltigt aktenskap, eller ocksa genom verba de futuro, lofte for framtiden, om detta foljdes av sexuell forening. I ingetdera fallet var nagon ceremoni nodvandig, inte heller kravdes familj eller vittnens narvaro, inte ens prastens valsignelse var strikt nodvandig for att skapa ett giltigt aktenskap. Denna lagstiftning stod inte endast i konflikt med det sekulara samhallets uppfattning av giftermal och aktenskap utan kunde aven ge upphov till problem for kyrkan sjalv. Problemen gallde framfor allt sa kallade hemliga giftermal, d.v.s. giftermal som ingatts utan nagra vittnen. Om makarna...
Forced marriages have been the matter of much debate lately. In 2004 the legislation concerning t... more Forced marriages have been the matter of much debate lately. In 2004 the legislation concerning this kind of marriages was reinforced in Sweden (ÄktB, 5 kap. 5 §) but many asks for a still more vigorous and efficient legislation. There are also important problems as to how to apply the legislation, notably how to prove and define coercion within the family. These questions were also raised in the discussion preceding the decision (prop 2003/04:48).
In the last half of the twelfth century, canon law established the rule that a marriage could be ... more In the last half of the twelfth century, canon law established the rule that a marriage could be declared invalid if the consent had been given through force or fear. This ruling was a natural consequence of the insistence on free consent as the only requirement for a valid marriage. It did, however, entail a number of both practical and theoretical problems. It could be difficult to prove force and fear within the family, but also to define what should count as sufficient force and fear to invalidate a marriage. In Roman law, the fictional figure of the ”constant man” (constans vir) was used to determine different degrees of coercion. The constant man standard was however difficult to use in marriage cases that often involved very young people, dependent on those most likely to use force and fear against them. Already in the thirteenth century, canonists and theologians, such as for example Hostiensis, Raymundus of Penyaforte, and Thomas of Chobham, acknowledged the particular diff...
Under slutet av 1500-talet och borjan av 1600-talet utgjorde La Rochelle den viktigaste reformert... more Under slutet av 1500-talet och borjan av 1600-talet utgjorde La Rochelle den viktigaste reformerta enklaven i Frankrike. I denna artikel studerar jag hur religionsstriderna, bade de faktiska handelserna och de olika rykten som cirkulerade, framtradde i den reformerta prasten Jacques Merlins anteckningar fran 1589 till 1620.
According to medieval canon law, a marriage could be declared invalid if the consent had been giv... more According to medieval canon law, a marriage could be declared invalid if the consent had been given through force or fear. This ruling was a natural consequence of the insistence on free consent as the only requirement for a valid marriage. It did, however, entail a number of both practical and theoretical problems. It could be difficult to prove force and fear within the family, but also to define what should count as sufficient force and fear to render a marriage invalid. In this article I examine the post-Tridentine discussion of force and fear as impediment to marriage, with special focus on Tomas Sanchez and his very influential De sancto matrimonii sacramento from 1603. A key element in Tomas discussion of force and fear is the relationship between parents and children, and how it influences the freedom of consent. How should force and fear be assessed in to relation to the "reverential fear", timor reverentialis, that children feel (and ought to feel) towards their ...
Uploads
Papers by Charlotte Christensen-Nugues
Included are investigations of the usage and multiple meanings of the term itself – the private – following traces in private conversations, parliamentary debates, letters, court records and newspapers. This linguistic perspective is combined with a conceptual and physical one, studying buildings and floor plans, furniture, ordinances and corruption. Most chapters centre on the major cities of the region – Copenhagen and Stockholm – but other cities as well as rural life are considered.
Private actions and private lives took place within public actions and public lives, not in isolation from them. By looking at the interaction between private and public, rather than treating the two notions as distinct and antagonistic, the studies collected here let us see how early modern people navigated the private aspects of life, along with all the potential dangers and benefits that accompanied them.