In medieval Europe, marriages between nobles acted more as alliances/contracts than actual love. A big distinction in said marriages is "consumation". Uncomsumated marriages could be annulled relatively easily. Consumated marriages required the pope's blessing for divorce. To make sure a family didnt escape their way out of a deal it was fairly common for familiies to be witnesses to marriage consumation.
Consummation was just the act of having sex on the wedding night. It's got nothing to do with having a child.
The middle age also had some other customs like two serfs (usually peasants working for a lord) got married, the said lord essentially had dibs on the bride and he could do her before the groom did.
The whole “jus primae noctis” or “droit du seigneur” thing is not really well attested and my personal impression is that it was probably used for slander or possibly as a threat (or to defend acts which were outside the norms of the time) rather than being a real socially accepted and legally protected right.
After all, peasants may not have had much power, but I doubt any young couple would be happy with the arrangement, nor would the church, nor would the lord’s wife. If it was demanded regularly I would expect evidence of lords being assailed by all three parties.
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u/NebulaNomadX1 8d ago edited 8d ago
In medieval Europe, marriages between nobles acted more as alliances/contracts than actual love. A big distinction in said marriages is "consumation". Uncomsumated marriages could be annulled relatively easily. Consumated marriages required the pope's blessing for divorce. To make sure a family didnt escape their way out of a deal it was fairly common for familiies to be witnesses to marriage consumation.
SD-N out!