Spiritual Marriage: Sexual Abstinence in Medieval Wedlock

By Dyan Elliott

Book Overview

The early Christian and medieval practice of spiritual marriage, in which husband and wife mutually and voluntarily relinquish sexual activity for reasons of piety, plays an important role in the development of the institution of marriage and in the understanding of female religiosity. Drawing on hagiography, chronicles, theology, canon law, and pastoral sources, Dyan Elliott traces the history of spiritual marriage in the West from apostolic times to the beginning of the sixteenth century.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B009QM50JO
• ISBN13: 9780691010885
• Release Date: October 1995
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 392 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.3"