Legal Definitions - nuptiae secundae

Nuptiae secundae is a Latin term historically used in ecclesiastical law to refer to a second or any subsequent marriage entered into by an individual.

In various religious traditions, particularly within the historical framework of canon law, these subsequent marriages were often viewed differently than first marriages. While generally permissible, they sometimes carried specific social or religious implications, or were subject to distinct regulations compared to a person's initial union.

Here are some examples illustrating the application of nuptiae secundae:

• Imagine a historical scenario where Lady Isabella, a noblewoman in 14th-century Europe, was widowed after her husband succumbed to illness. Several years later, she decided to marry a neighboring lord for political alliance and companionship. This union would be considered her nuptiae secundae.

  This example illustrates the term because it refers to Lady Isabella's second marriage after the dissolution of her first by death, placing it within the historical context where such unions were specifically categorized and sometimes viewed with particular ecclesiastical considerations.

• Consider a modern academic discussion in a seminary class on the historical development of marriage rites. The professor explains that early Christian theologians often distinguished between a first marriage and subsequent marriages, using terms like nuptiae secundae to denote the latter.

  This demonstrates the term's meaning by highlighting its use in a theological and historical context to differentiate a second or later marriage from an initial one, emphasizing that religious institutions historically held distinct views or applied different norms to these subsequent unions.

• In a historical novel set in Victorian England, a character named Mr. Davies, a widower, eventually decides to remarry his late wife's sister. The community's reaction, as depicted in the novel, includes whispers about the propriety of a "second marriage" and whether the local vicar would officiate without reservation.

  Here, Mr. Davies's marriage to his sister-in-law is his nuptiae secundae. The example shows how the concept of a subsequent marriage, even in later historical periods, could still evoke specific societal and religious scrutiny, reflecting the enduring influence of the historical ecclesiastical perspective associated with the term.