e disorders were incited by this
unjust right of the husband that, largely through the influence of the
clergy, limitations were put upon the practice. Naturally, the first
step was to require cause for the repudiation of a wife. The causes
advanced were usually frivolous or insufficient; but when the bishops
taught that "if a man repudiated his wife, he was not to marry another
in her lifetime, if he wished to be a very good Christian," the custom
became less prevalent, especially as the second wife was punished by
excommunication. The right of repudiation for cause was exercised by
wives as well as husbands. The case of Etheldrythe, the daughter of
Anna, the famous King of East Anglia, as cited by Thrupp, will serve
to illustrate the prevailing conditions of the wedded state. "This
young lady had the misfortune to be very weak and very rich. She
was consequently sought for as a wife, by princes who cared nothing
for her person, and as a nun, by churchmen who cared as little for
her soul. She endeavored to please all parties. She took a vow of
virginity with permission to marry, and married with permission to
observe her vow. Her first husband, Tondebert, Earl of Girvii, who
probably obtained possession of her land, did not trouble himself
about her or her personal property; and on his death, she retired
to Ely. She subsequently married Egfried, a son of the King of
Northumbria, a boy of about thirteen, whose friends desired her
estate. He, also, for some time willingly respected her vow, but
afterward attempted to compel her to do her duty as a wife. She
refused compliance with his wishes, and, having succeeded in escaping
from his kingdom, again took up her residence in a monastery. There,
in defiance of her marriage vow, she emulated the strictest chastity
of the cloister while in the bonds of marriage. The clergy applauded
her conduct, and, no doubt, obtained possession of her estates. The
king took a second wife; and all parties appear to have been satisfied
with what was, in truth, a very discreditable transaction."

After the decline of the right of repudiation, marriage could be
annulled by mutual consent, and the parties were probably permitted
to marry again. Legal divorces were granted for adultery, and what
the clergy called spiritual adultery, which consisted of marriage to
a godfather or a godmother or anyone who was of spiritual kindred, as
such imagined relatives were called. To these causes for divorce