Friedelehe meaning "lover marriage" is a term for a postulated form ofGermanicmarriage said to have existed during theEarly Middle Ages. The concept was introduced into mediaevalhistoriography in the 1920s byHerbert Meyer. There is some controversy as to whether such a marriage form, a quasi-marriage,[1] existed but historians who have identified it agree that it was not accepted by the Church.[2]
The termFriedelehe means approximately "lover marriage". The modern German wordFriedel is derived from theOld High Germanfriudil, which meant "lover", or "sweetheart";[3] this is in turn derived fromfrijōn "to love". The OHGfriudil was parallel to theOld Norsefridl,frilla, modernDanish andNorwegianfrille "lover".
Friedel is compounded with the wordEhe "marriage", from OHGēha orēa "marriage", which in turn harks back to the formēwa, meaning (approximately) cosmic or divine "law". An OHG formfriudilēha is itself apparently not attested, contributing to the controversy about the authenticity of the modern term.
Defining characteristics ofFriedelehe according to Meyer
According to Herbert Meyer, the characteristics of Friedelehe were:
The husband did not become the legal guardian of the woman, in contrast to theMuntehe, or dowered marriage.
The marriage was based on a consensual agreement between husband and wife, that is, both had the desire to marry.
The woman had the same right as the man to ask for divorce.
Friedelehe was usually contracted between couples from different social status.
Friedelehe was not synonymous withpolygyny, but enabled it.
The children of aFriedelehe were not under the control of the father, but only that of the mother.
Children of aFriedelehe initially enjoyed full inheritance rights; under the growing influence of the church their position was continuously weakened.
AFriedelehe came into being solely by public conveyance of the bride to the groom's domicile and the wedding night consummation; the bride also received aMorgengabe.
AFriedelehe was able to be converted into aMuntehe (dowered or guardianship marriage), if the husband subsequently conveyedbridewealth.
Perhaps the best known historic individual to have been born under a Friedelehe wasCharlemagne who unified much of Europe in theMiddle Ages. Most historians agree that he was born on 2 April 742 while his parents,Pepin the Short andBertrada of Laon, were bound under a private contract, not considered to be a legal union; the couple did not marry until 744.[4][5] According to Meyer, Friedelehe was declared illegitimate by the Church in the 9th Century. Nevertheless, vestiges of this form of marriage are said have persisted until modern times reflected in the form of theMorganatic marriage (also calledleft-hand marriage).
In addition toFriedelehe the aforementionedMuntehe,Kebsehe (concubinage),Raubehe (abduction) andEntführungsehe (elopement) are said to have existed in the Middle Ages.[citation needed]
According to research in the early years of the 21st century (among others that of Else Ebel, Karl Heidecker[citation needed] and Andrea Esmyol), indications have accumulated providing evidence to the effect thatFriedelehe is a mere research artifact, a construct that arose from a faulty interpretation of the sources by Meyer. The following points of criticism have been raised:
Ebel reviewed the Old Norse sources used by Meyer, and could not confirm Meyer's conclusions. She criticized him for taking some citations out of context, distorting their meaning.[6]
According to Esmyol, the textual citations used by Meyer all relate either to concubinage or to dowered marriages, and do not lead to any conclusions about the existence of a freer form of marriage such asFriedelehe.[7]
In addition, Meyer's most frequently used sources date from a time in which, even according to his own opinion,Friedelehe no longer existed.
That Meyer's theory was still able to prevail in this field of research for decades may be attributed to the specific context in which it developed. It was, on the one hand, a time in the 19th and early 20th century characterized by a search for historical models for freer choice in theamatory realm. In later years theNazi regime ensured that Meyer's theory received attention, since it fit very well into the Nazi ideology emphasizing Germanic heritage and promoting a higher birthrate (cf. Lebensborn).[citation needed]
Meyer, Herbert.Friedelehe und Mutterrecht (Friedelehe and Maternal Rights). Weimar 1927 (In spite of the rather old publication date, this continues to be the central work forFriedelehe.)
^Deutsches Wörterbuch of Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm. 16 Vols, 32 Fasicles]. Leipzig: S. Hirzel 1854-1960. -- Edition of 1971. Available onlinehereArchived 2011-05-21 at theWayback Machine.
^Ebel, Else.Der Konkubinat nach altwestnordischen Quellen: Philologische Studien zur sogenannten "Friedelehe." (Concubinage According to Old West Nordic Sources: Philological Studies on the So-Called "Friedelehe.").Ergänzungsbände zum Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde 8, Berlin, Walter de Gruyter, 1993.
^Esmyol, Andrea (2002).Geliebte oder Ehefrau? : Konkubinen im frühen Mittelalter (Lover or Wife? Concubines in the early Middle Ages). Köln: Böhlau.ISBN3-412-11901-6.OCLC49584572.
