Friedelehe meaning "lover marriage" is a term for a postulated form of Germanic marriage said to have existed during the Early Middle Ages. The concept was introduced into mediaeval historiography in the 1920s by Herbert 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]
- ^ Karras, Ruth Mazo (2017-01-20). Sexuality in Medieval Europe: Doing Unto Others. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781351979900.
- ^ Wemple, Suzanne Fonay (2015-12-16). Women in Frankish Society: Marriage and the Cloister, 500 to 900. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 9781512821338.