Sex, Marriage, And Family Life In John Calvin's Geneva

by Witte, John, Jr.

• ISBN13: 9780802848031
• ISBN10: 0802848036
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-10-15
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co

Summary

John Calvin transformed the Western theology and law of sex, marriage, and family life. Building on a generation of Protestant reforms, Calvin constructed a comprehensive new theology and law that made marital formation and dissolution, childrenbs nurture and welfare, family cohesion and support, and sexual sin and crime essential concerns for both church and state. Working with other jurists and theologians, Calvin drew the Consistory and Council of Geneva into a creative new alliance to govern domestic and sexual subjects. Together, these authorities outlawed monasticism and mandatory clerical celibacy, and encouraged marriage for all fit adults. They set clear guidelines for courtship and engagement and mandated parental consent, peer witness, church consecration, and state registration for valid marriage. They radically reconfigured weddings and wedding feasts and reformed marital property and inheritance, marital consent and impediments. They created new rights and duties for wives within the bedroom and for children within the household. They streamlined the grounds and procedures for annulment and introduced fault-based divorce for both husbands and wives on grounds of adultery and desertion. They encouraged the remarriage of divorcees and widow(er)s. They punished rape, fornication, prostitution, sodomy, and other sexual felonies with startling new severity and put firm new restrictions on dancing, sumptuousness, ribaldry, and obscenity. They put new stock in catechesis and education, created new schools, curricula, and teaching aids, and provided new sanctuary to illegitimate, abandoned, and abused children. They created new protections for abused wives and impoverishedwidows. Many of these reforms of sixteenth-century Geneva were echoed and elaborated in numerous Calvinist communities, ultimately on both sides of the Atlantic, and a good number of these reforms found their way into our modern ci

Author Biography

John Witte Jr. is Jonas Robitscher Professor of Law and Ethics and director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University Robert M. Kingdon is Hilldale Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Wisconsin, former director and current member of the Institute for Research in the Humanities, and former editor of the Sixteenth Century Journal

Table of Contents

Series Preface	xvii
Foreword	xx
Don S. Browning
Preface and Acknowledgments	xxvii
Abbreviations	xxx
Introduction	1	(2)
The Sources of Reform	3	(13)
Calvin's Allies	16	(5)
How We Arranged the Material	21	(2)
Other Pertinent Material	23	(4)
Making and Breaking Intimate Bonds	27	(35)
An Overview of the Reformation of Engagement, Annulment, and Marriage in Geneva
The Tradition	28	(10)
The Reformation	38	(11)
Selected Documents	49	(13)
Calvin's Attack on the Catholic Theology and Canon Law on Marriage (1536)	49	(2)
Marriage Ordinance (1546)	51	(11)
The New Alliance of Church and State	62	(32)
The Reformation Work of the Genevan Council and Consistory
Council and Consistory	62	(9)
Patterns of Consistory Cases	71	(4)
Table 1:1546 Cases on Sex, Marriage, and Family	75	(1)
Table 2:1552 Cases on Sex, Marriage, and Family	75	(1)
Table 3:1557 Cases on Sex, Marriage, and Family	76	(1)
Summary and Conclusions	77	(3)
Selected Documents	80	(14)
Ordinances on Offices and Officers (1543)	80	(7)
Ecclesiastical Ordinances (1541)	87	(7)
Looking for Love in All the Right Places	94	(25)
Calvin on Courtship and Matchmaking
Theological Reflections on Courtship	95	(2)
Calvin's Own Courtship	97	(3)
Calvin the Matchmaker	100	(6)
Summary and Conclusions	106	(2)
Selected Documents	108	(11)
Commentary on Genesis 6:2 (1554)	108	(1)
Commentary on Genesis 29:18 (1554)	108	(1)
Letter to Farel (February 28, 1539)	109	(1)
Letter to Farel (May 19, 1539)	109	(1)
Letter to Farel (February 6, 1540)	109	(1)
Letter to Farel (ca. March 29, 1540)	110	(1)
Letter to M. de Falais (July 4, 1546)	110	(1)
Letter to Viret (July 13, 1546)	111	(1)
Letter to Viret (July 15, 1546)	111	(2)
Letter to Viret (July, 1546)	113	(1)
Letter to Viret (July 25, 1546)	113	(1)
Letter to M. de Falais (October 4, 1546)	114	(1)
Letter to M. de Falais (November 16, 1546)	114	(1)
Letter to Valeran Poulain (March, 1547)	115	(1)
Letter to Oswald Myconius (May, 1547)	116	(1)
Letter to M. de Falais (May 1, 1547)	117	(1)
Letter to M. de Falais (May 26, 1547)	117	(1)
Letter to M. de Falais (August 16, 1547)	118	(1)
Letter to M. de Falais (September 10, 1547)	118	(1)
Love Thyself as Thy Neighbor	119	(45)
Individual Consent to Engagement and Marriage
Mutual Consent and the Impediment of Compulsion	120	(10)
Frivolous, Drunken, and Mistaken Promises	130	(2)
Conditional Promises	132	(5)
Summary and Conclusions	137	(3)
Selected Documents	140	(24)
Sermon on Deuteronomy 25:5-12 (1556)	140	(1)
Commentary on the Harmony of the Law Exodus 22:16-17 (1563)	141	(1)
Sermon on Deuteronomy 22:25-30 (1556)	141	(1)
Calvin's Consilium on Coerced Consent of Children (n.d.)	142	(2)
Theodore Beza on Coerced Marriage Promises (1569)	144	(1)
Case of Pierre Jaqueno and Claude Conte (1545)	144	(1)
Case of Marco Ducloz and Paula (1547)	145	(1)
Case of Nicolas Adduard and Jehanne Pyto (1546)	145	(1)
Case of Jaques Charvier and Anne de Beaumont (1552)	146	(1)
Case of Louise Fornier and Jean Tru (1559)	147	(1)
Case of Roland Vuarrier and Aima (1547)	148	(1)
Case of Jaquema Quay and Claude Genod (1557)	149	(1)
Case of Jeanne Gerod and Pierre Durand (1547)	150	(2)
Case of Guillaume Darnex and Philippa (1552)	152	(1)
Case of Michee Morard and Hudry Rojod (1557)	153	(2)
Case of Girard Perlet's Two Servants (1546)	155	(1)
Case of Pierre Bron and Berte (1547)	156	(1)
Theodore Beza on the Impediments of Error (1569)	157	(1)
Case of Michel Pesson and George Marin (1546)	158	(1)
Letter of Attestation to Neuchatel (1547)	159	(1)
Case of Jean Philippe and Anne Renaud (1554)	159	(1)
Case of Pierre Sautier (1552)	160	(1)
Case of Guyonne Copponay and Hugo Cant (1556)	161	(1)
Case of Louis Bourgeoise and Mademoiselle Levrat (1547)	162	(2)
Honor Thy Father (and Thy Mother)	164	(38)
Parental Consent to Engagement and Marriage
The 1546 Marriage Ordinance and Its Interpretation	165	(5)
Theological and Prudential Reflections	170	(4)
Consistory Cases	174	(6)
Summary and Conclusions	180	(3)
Selected Documents	183	(19)
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 7:36-38 (1546)	183	(1)
Commentary on the Harmony of the Law Numbers 30:2-5 (1563)	184	(1)
Commentary on Genesis 24:1-3, 57 (1554)	184	(1)
Commentary on Joshua 15:14 (1563)	185	(1)
Theodore Beza on Parental Consent and Clandestine Marriages (1569)	185	(3)
Case of Louise Loup and Nicod des Planches (1552)	188	(1)
Case of Jenon Ramou, Francoise Tournier, Humbert Gallatin, and Jean Berto (1552)	188	(1)
Case of Pierre Clerc, Clement de Biffort, and Fiancee (1557)	189	(1)
Case of Nicolas, Jaques d'Orleans, and His Fiancee (1552)	189	(1)
Case of Jeanne Nepveur and Louis Blanchet (1556-1557)	190	(2)
Case of Nicolas Millet and Michee Gaudi (1557)	192	(1)
Case of Etienne de Lonnay and Maxima (1547)	193	(1)
Case of Girard Reveillet and Fiancee (1545)	194	(1)
Case of Jean Casaux and Madeleine D'Agnon (1561)	195	(5)
Case of Pierre Dolen and Mademoiselle Fertz (1546)	200	(2)
Capacity to Contract Marriage	202	(18)
The Impediments of Infancy and Mental Inability
The Impediment of Infancy or Impuberty	203	(6)
The Impediment of Mental Inability	209	(3)
Summary and Conclusions	212	(1)
Selected Documents	213	(7)
Calvin's Consilium on Marriage of Youngsters (n.d.)	213	(1)
Theodore Beza on Marriage of Children (1569)	213	(1)
Letter to Guillaume Farel (1541)	214	(1)
Case of Claude Gringet (1548)	215	(1)
Case of Pierre Mestrazat (1547)	215	(1)
Case of Jean Dimier and Nicolarde du Pont (1546)	216	(1)
Case of Jaques Rosset and Madeleine Lechiere (1557)	217	(1)
Theodore Beza on Impediments of Mental Inability (1569)	218	(2)
The Two Shall Become One Flesh	220	(42)
The Impediment of Polygamy or Precontract
Theological Writings on Polygamy	220	(8)
Consistory Cases on Precontract	228	(8)
Summary and Conclusions	236	(3)
Selected Documents	239	(23)
Commentary on Genesis 2:24 (1554)	239	(1)
Sermon on Genesis 2:22-24 (1559)	239	(4)
Commentary on the Harmony of the Gospel Matthew 19:4-5 (1555)	243	(1)
Commentary on Ephesians 5:31 (1548)	244	(1)
Sermon on Deuteronomy 21:15-17 (1555)	245	(1)
Commentary on Genesis 4:19 (1554)	246	(1)
Commentary on Genesis 29:27-31, 30:1-3 (1554)	246	(2)
Lecture on Malachi 2:15-16 (1559)	248	(1)
Commentary on the Harmony of the Law Deuteronomy 17:17 (1563)	249	(1)
Commentary on 1 Timothy 3:2 (1548)	250	(1)
Case of Blaise de La Croix and Yolande (1552)	251	(1)
Case of Philiberte Le Chapuis et al. (1557)	251	(2)
Case of Claude Plantain et al. (1561)	253	(2)
Case of Pierre Rapin (1542)	255	(1)
Case of Marthe Piguier et al. (1555-1556)	255	(5)
Case of Claude Du Noyer (1558)	260	(1)
Case of Robert Cuysin (1552)	261	(1)
Fitness for Marriage	262	(48)
The Impediments of Lack of Virginity, Contagion, Sexual Incapacity, and Disparity in Age
Lack or Betrayal of Presumed Virginity	262	(8)
Contagion or Incurable Disease	270	(2)
Sexual Dysfunction	272	(6)
Disparities of Age	278	(4)
Summary and Conclusions	282	(3)
Selected Documents	285	(25)
Commentary on the Harmony of the Law Leviticus 21:7-9, 13-15 (1563)	285	(1)
Commentary on the Harmony of the Law Deuteronomy 22:13-21 (1563)	286	(1)
Sermon on Deuteronomy 22:13-24 (1556)	287	(1)
Commentary on the Harmony of the Law Deuteronomy 22:23 (1563)	288	(1)
Commentary on the Harmony of the Gospel Matthew 1:18-19 (1555)	288	(1)
Theodore Beza on the Error of Virginity (1569)	289	(1)
Case of Jean Bolliet and Pernete (1544)	290	(1)
Case of Pierre Chevallier and Claude Gra (1557)	291	(1)
Case of Pierre Butin and His Fiancee Claude	292	(2)
Theodore Beza on Diseases Contracted Before Marriage (1569)	294	(1)
Calvin's Consilium on Contagious Disease in Marriage (1561)	295	(1)
Case of Claude Fornier and Fiancee (1556)	296	(1)
Commentary on the Harmony of the Gospel Matthew 19:12 (1555)	296	(1)
Calvin's Consilium on Marriage of the Frigid and Eunuchs (n.d.)	297	(1)
Theodore Beza on Invalidity of Marriage for Eunuchs (1569)	297	(1)
Theodore Beza on Impediments of Sexual Disability	298	(1)
Case of Francois Chastellain (1556)	299	(1)
Case of Girard and Janon Favre (1545-1547)	299	(4)
Case of Martin Favre and Antoine Favre Called Ponssoniere (1547)	303	(1)
Letter to Nicholas Parent (December 14, 1540)	304	(1)
Report on Farel's Marriage in Annales Calviniani	304	(1)
Letter to Guillaume Farel (September, 1558)	305	(1)
Letter to the Pastors of Neuchatel (September 26, 1558)	306	(1)
Case of Leonard Boulon and Wife (1557)	306	(1)
Case of Thomas Lambert and Jehanne-Marie (1557)	307	(1)
Case of Bartholomie D'Orsieres and Ducreson (1556-1557)	308	(2)
Thou Shalt Not Uncover the Nakedness of a Relative	310	(44)
The Incest Impediments
Theological Teachings	312	(11)
Consistory Cases on Incest	323	(6)
Summary and Conclusions	329	(3)
Selected Documents	332	(22)
Theodore Beza's Tables on Impediments (1569)	332	(1)
Commentary on the Harmony of the Law Leviticus 18:6-18 (1563)	333	(1)
Consilium on Consanguinity and Affinity (n.d.)	334	(1)
Consilium on Whether a Man May Marry His Deceased Wife's Sister (n.d.)	335	(1)
Consilium on Whether a Man May Marry His Dead Brother's Widow (n.d.)	336	(1)
Commentary on Genesis 38:8-11 (1554)	337	(1)
Commentary on Genesis 35:22 (1554)	338	(1)
Commentary on Genesis 38:12-30 (1554)	339	(1)
Sermon on 2 Samuel 13:1-14 (1562)	340	(1)
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 (1546)	341	(1)
Case of Aime Rivilliod and His Maid (1546)	342	(1)
Case of Claude Michallet and His Daughter-in-Law (1547)	343	(1)
Case of Antoine Chappuys and Her Nephew Michel (1556)	344	(1)
Case of Andre Duplot and His Aunt Jeanne Court (1557)	344	(1)
Case of Michel Pointeau (1557)	345	(1)
Case of Claude Michaud and Aima Manget (1552)	346	(1)
Case of Dom Legier Joli and Jaqueme of Etaux (1546)	346	(2)
Case of Amied de Leamon and Claudine (1546-1547)	348	(2)
Case of Francois Du Freney and Claudine of Gy (1551-1552)	350	(2)
Case of Jeanne and Jaques Marcellin (1556-1557)	352	(2)
Do Not Be Unequally Yoked with Unbelievers	354	(29)
The Theology and Law of Interreligious Marriage
Theological Teachings	356	(5)
Consistory Cases	361	(3)
Summary and Conclusions	364	(2)
Selected Documents	366	(12)
Commentary on Genesis 6:1-2 (1554)	366	(1)
Commentary on Genesis 26:34 (1554)	366	(1)
Commentary on Genesis 38:2 (1554)	367	(1)
Sermon on Deuteronomy 21:10-14 (1555)	367	(2)
Lecture on Malachi 2:11 (ca. 1560)	369	(1)
Letter to Lelio Sozzini (June, 1549)	370	(1)
Letter to Lelio Sozzini (December 7, 1549)	370	(1)
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 (1546)	371	(2)
Letter to Anonymous Woman (July 22, 1552)	373	(1)
Consilium (April 28, 1556)	374	(1)
Case of Ami Andrion de la Rive and Daughter Francoise (1547)	375	(1)
Case of Francois Danel of Jussy (1556)	376	(1)
Case of Bernard and Rolette Vel (1557)	376	(2)
Case of Jean Mercier (1556)	378	(1)
Case of Pierre Boucheron and Marguerite des Bordes (1547)	378	(1)
Case of Bernard and Pavicte Martin (1557)	379	(1)
Theodore Beza on Marriage with Unbelievers (1569)	380	(3)
For Richer or Poorer	383	(31)
The Economics of Engagement and Marriage
The Tradition	383	(5)
The Reformation	388	(8)
Summary and Conclusions	396	(3)
Selected Documents	399	(15)
Marriage Contract of Germain Colladon and Claude Bigot (1536)	399	(2)
Letter to Viret (August 19, 1542)	401	(1)
Letter to Farel (July 1, 1558)	402	(1)
Letter to de Falais (July 17, 1548)	402	(1)
Commentary on Genesis 29:14-25 (1554)	403	(1)
Commentary on Genesis 24:22 (1554)	403	(1)
Fragment of Calvin's Draft Ordinance on Matrimonial Property (n.d.)	404	(1)
Case of Louis Piaget and Fiancee (1545)	405	(1)
Case of Jean de Landecy and Mia (1546)	406	(1)
Case of Robert Moreau and Jeanne (1552)	407	(1)
Case of Philibert Berthellier (1552)	407	(1)
Case of Thomas Bonna and Claudine de Loelmoz (1552-1553)	408	(1)
Civil Edicts (January 29, 1568)	409	(3)
Marriage Contract of Michel Guichon and Pernette Cuvat (1569)	412	(2)
``The Perilous Interval''	414	(31)
Premarital Delay, Sex, and Desertion
Delayed Weddings, Premarital Sex, and Cohabitation	415	(9)
Premarital Desertion	424	(7)
Summary and Conclusions	431	(1)
Selected Documents	432	(13)
Case of Pernodi (1546)	432	(1)
Case of Francois Chapuis (1547)	432	(1)
Case of Jehanne Belletta and Guillaume Douq (1547)	432	(1)
Case of the Widow Simon (1546)	433	(1)
Case of Bertrand Guignon and Annette de Bellevaux (1556)	433	(1)
Case of Toussaint de La Mare and Catherine Senarti (1556)	433	(1)
Case of Pierre Deveaux and Guigonne (1550)	434	(1)
Case of Jean Pillet and Claudine Pascart (1557)	435	(1)
Case of Mia de Grilliez (1547)	436	(1)
Case of Jean Millet (1556)	436	(1)
Case of George and Renee Tardi (1556)	437	(1)
Case of Aubigny Gardet and Madeleine (1556)	437	(1)
Case of Antoine and Aima Tornier (1552)	438	(1)
Theodore Beza on Desertion of Fiances (1569)	438	(2)
Case of Jehanne Besson, alias Fontanna (1545)	440	(1)
Case of Jeanne Verney (1557)	440	(1)
Case of Gervaise Bochue and Claude Bonadventura (1547)	441	(1)
Case of Francoise Collonbeyre (1556)	441	(1)
Case of Jean Philippe and Anne Regnau (1556-1557)	442	(3)
I Now Take Thee	445	(36)
Of Banns and Weddings
Wedding Laws, Liturgies, and Feasts	445	(12)
Consistory Cases	457	(5)
Summary and Conclusions	462	(2)
Selected Documents	464	(17)
The Parisian Passwind, Observations of Genevan Weddings (1556)	464	(1)
The Manner of Celebrating Holy Matrimony (1545)	464	(3)
Letter to Christoph Fabri (1553)	467	(1)
Commentary on the Gospel of John 2:1-11 (1553)	468	(1)
Case of Jean Leccot (1548)	469	(1)
Case of Etienne de Faye and Marie Salmon (1557)	470	(1)
Case of Arnauld Casaubon and Mengine Rousseau (1557)	470	(1)
Case of Antoine Maurin and Wife (1556)	471	(1)
Case of Claude de Boyssiere and Antoine Lenarde (1557)	471	(1)
Case of Jean Antoine and Catherine Bret (1557)	472	(1)
Petition of Adam Fumee and Michelle de Millone (1547)	472	(1)
Case of Dancing, Drinking, and Debauchery at Wedding (1546)	473	(5)
Letter to Ami Perrin (1546)	478	(1)
Letter to Guillaume Farel and Pierre Viret (1546)	479	(2)
Concluding Reflections	481	(10)
The Emerging Covenantal Model of Engagement and Marriage
General Index	491	(17)
Index to Biblical Sources	508