After Polygamy Was Made a Sin: The Social History of Christian Polygamy

Western society usually associates the taking of multiple wives with the Muslim world, and with the South Sea Islands. But John Cairncross contends, in this fascinating historical analysis, that it was only when the Church became centred in Rome that polygamy became a ‘sin’. He shows that in fact there was a strong underground polygamous tradition in early Christian Europe, from around 1525 to 1800, which was persecuted and finally stamped out by Rome. Based on rigorous examination of texts from this era both for and against polygamy, this study gives a remarkable insight into moral/sexual attitudes, and particularly the status of women, at the time.