[βThe Roman Catholic Churchβs definition of incest is one of the most intriguing features of medieval marriage. Neither the Old nor New Testament provided any basis for it. But in the mid-sixth century, church synods began to denounce as incestuous the Old Testament practice of marrying a brotherβs widow. Also, during the sixth and seventh centuries bishops began condemning marriage to first and second cousins, stepmothers or stepdaughters, and the widows of uncles. In 721, Pope Gregory II even forbade marriage with the godmother of oneβs child or with the mother of oneβs godchild.
A few decades later marriage was forbidden up to the seventh degree of separation, or βas far as memory could go back.β This made it illegal to marry a descendant of oneβs great-great-great-great-great-grandfather! By the end of the eighth century it was incestuous to marry in-laws, the kin of godparents or godchildren, or a relative of someone you had once had sexual intercourse with. It was also forbidden to marry a relative of someone you had previously promised but failed to marry. These prohibitions were so broad that almost any match could be ruled invalid. One historian notes that, at least in theory, the incest rules prohibited young village men from wedding βall the marriageable girls they could possibly know and a great many more besides.β
On the other hand, because the rules were so routinely ignored at the time of marriage, they could later be used to invalidate an existing marriage. A claim of incest provided an escape clause from the Churchβs strictures against divorce. A married couple, or one of the pair, who desired a divorce might suddenly discover that the marriage had been incestuous all along. In the late eleventh century the Count of Anjou was able to repudiate five of his own marriages by dint of diligent genealogical research. In 1152 the divorce of King Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine was approved when the couple pointed out that they were related within four or five degrees. The excuse served, even though this had been common knowledge at the time of their wedding and Louisβs next wife, Constance of Castile, was even more closely related to him than Eleanor had been. As one historian notes, the churchβs βabhorrence of incest provided a gap in the laws of monogamy through which a king . . . could drive a coach and horses.β
In 1215 the Fourth Lateran Council narrowed the definition of incest to four degrees of separation. The councilβs stated aim was to enforce the modified ban more stringently. But popes continued to grant dispensations for political or financial gain. Under the papacy of Boniface IV (1389-1404), marital dispensations were openly available for sale, with a sliding fee scale based on the value of the concession being sought.β]
stephanie coontz, from marriage, a history: from obedience to intimacy, or how love conquered marriage, 2005
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