Couples Literally Fought to Get Out of a Bad Marriage in the Middle Ages
Just about any marriage starts off with high hopes of eternal love, or at least until death doth part the couple. However, not all marriages are destined for everlasting bliss – which is why we have divorce lawyers. In the olden days, divorce was difficult. It was frowned upon to such an extent that it was just about impossible to secure one. King Henry VIII for example, tried for years to get the Pope to annul his marriage. When that failed, he took England out of the Catholic fold, started his own Church of England with himself at its head, and got out of his marriage that way. For those who were not kings, things could be even trickier. They were especially tricky for women. In France, for example, just about the only legal grounds to get out of a marriage was if a husband couldn’t get it up.
To defend themselves from charges of impotence, defendant hubbies had to demonstrate that they could get an erection. In a courtroom. In front of witnesses and legal experts. To the satisfaction of “honest women” appointed by the authorities to check. No pressure at all. However, if a husband did not wish to prove his virility in public by “expel[ing] reproductive fluids on demand“, there was an alternative. The couple could instead fight a divorce duel. Such bouts were common enough to warrant an entire chapter in a popular Middle Ages dueling manual.
