Prelates and Princes
Aristocratic Marriages, Canon Law Prohibitions, and Shifts in Norms and Patterns of Domination in the Central Middle Ages
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5248015 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ivan Ermakoff (University of Chicago, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1997 |
| Volume | 62 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 405 |
| Publication date | 1997-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Sociological Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-1224 • E-ISSN: 1939-8271 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2657313 |
| OpenAlex | W2063092500 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 17 |
| References cited | 16 |
In this article, the author explores the processes whereby, at the turn of the twelfth century, European aristocrats acknowledged clerics' prohibitions of divorce and close-kin marriages. He argues that this normative shift cannot be adequately accounted for by the rise of feudalism, the Gregorian reformers' moralist offensive or the development of canon law : these events do not explain (1) why the Roman hierarchy thought it possible, at a certain moment in time, to impose their normative preferences on reluctant elites; or (2) why aristocrats eventually yielded to demands that undermined their autonomy of choice regarding marriage. He addresses both problems by considering two analytically distinct transformative processes. One concerns the symbolic and institutional conditions that allowed Roman prelates to substantiate their normative claims : the Church hierarchy emphasized the sacramental and spiritual significance of the marital tie and implemented reforms intended to preclude collusive practices between lords and bishops. The second process highlights how canonical rules of marriage were converted into effective normative constraints : in a context marked by the patrimonialization of feudal relations and an increase in competition, aristocrats relied on ecclesiastical standards for their own regulatory and strategic interests
Ancient history · Canon Law · Middle Ages · Political science · Sociology · Historical Legal Studies and Society · History · Law · Medieval Literature and History · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity
Canon Law Prohibitions on Marriage to Kin in Rus’ and Muscovy
Perpetuating Advantage
Socjologia historyczna a teoria gier
Thousands of Famous People Are Closely Related to One Another
The Importance of Norms
Emotions, Cognition, and Collective Alignment
Historicizing the Secularization Debate
The Feudal Revolution and Europe's Rise
A Path Toward Fairness
Patrimony and Collective Capacity
Le sens commun et les explications sociologiques
Denunciation and Social Control
The family web
Causality and History
Common Sense and Sociological Explanations
The Debate on Historical Sociology
Theory of practice, rational choice, and historical change
The Church in Western Europe from the Tenth to the Early Twelfth Century
The Development of the Family and Marriage in Europe
Principles of Group Solidarity
The Sovereign State and Its Competitors
Power-Dependence Relations
The Logic of Practice
Law and Revolution
Of Rule and Revenue
Early medieval regulations concerning marital sexual relations
Family, Community and Cult on the Eve of the Gregorian Reform
Church Property on the European Continent, 701-1200
Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe
The Making of the Medieval Family
Social Norms and Economic Theory
The Role of General Theory in Comparative-Historical Sociology
Collective Sanctions and the Creation of Prisoner's Dilemma Norms
| Unique citing works | 17 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,61 |
| Citation span | 1998 - 2025 (28) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 16 |