Le couple, entre faits et droit

This paper reviews the failure of the marriage of René II, Duke of Lorraine, and his first wife Jeanne d’Harcourt, a failure made concrete with the separation of the spouses by court order in 1485. The aim is to examine what this example reveals about the application of canonical rules in matrimonial affairs at the end of the Middle Ages, and to discover what this case shows about how a princely couple operated while separated. The paper first reviews the relatively unfamiliar conjugal life of the duke and Jeanne. It then examines the legal steps taken by the duke to have his union declared void, and presents a tentative evaluation of the validity of the procedures involved. Finally, the paper sheds light on the previously unpublished negotiations held between the duke and Jeanne d’Harcourt around their separation

Art · Humanities · Negotiation · Political science · Sociology · Wife · European Political History Analysis · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · Law · Medieval and Early Modern Justice