Lusanna: Guilty or Not?
In the year 1455 in Florence, Italy a marriage case was brought in front of Archbishop Antoninus who was to determine whether Lusanna and Giovanni della Casa were officially married. Giovanni’s argument was that the couple was never married while Lusanna stated otherwise. Archbishop Antoninus ruled correctly, Lusanna and Giovanni had been officially married in the eye of the church.
The reason why the marriage between Giovanni and Lusanna caused problems was the matter of how the alleged marriage occurred. It occurred in the house of Antonio, Lusanna’s brother, where Fra Felice asked both Lusanna and Giovanni if they wished to take one another as husband and wife both answered “yes” and rings were exchanged. This act was witnessed by “Antonio and his wife, Cosa; his stepmother, Mea; Giuliana and Niccolò Magaldi; Antonio’s three daughters; and five Magaldi children.” The marriage was then consummated (Brucker, Giovanni, 19-20). However, a typical Florentine wedding would be a public affair. The two families would hold long negotiations concerning the marriage contract once the couple agreed privately that they would be wed. Once the negotiations were …show more content…
There was a private agreement between the couple that if Lusanna’s husband were to die Giovanni would marry her; this agreement was overheard by Giuliana Magaldi (Brucker, Giovanni, 72). Though, the marriage contract, Lusanna’s dowry, appears to have never been collected. Messer Stefano, Lusanna’s procurator, argued; “Beautiful Florintine women of lowly origins often married men who were their social superiors and who did not insist on a dowry from their brides.” For a marriage to be legal it was “sufficient that the two partied agreed freely… in the presence of witnesses (Brucker, Giovanni, 50-53).” Lastly, following the traditional wedding formation Giovanni placed a rings on Lusanna’s finger (Brucker, Giovanni,
In the year 1455 in Florence, Italy a marriage case was brought in front of Archbishop Antoninus who was to determine whether Lusanna and Giovanni della Casa were officially married. Giovanni’s argument was that the couple was never married while Lusanna stated otherwise. Archbishop Antoninus ruled correctly, Lusanna and Giovanni had been officially married in the eye of the church.
The reason why the marriage between Giovanni and Lusanna caused problems was the matter of how the alleged marriage occurred. It occurred in the house of Antonio, Lusanna’s brother, where Fra Felice asked both Lusanna and Giovanni if they wished to take one another as husband and wife both answered “yes” and rings were exchanged. This act was witnessed by “Antonio and his wife, Cosa; his stepmother, Mea; Giuliana and Niccolò Magaldi; Antonio’s three daughters; and five Magaldi children.” The marriage was then consummated (Brucker, Giovanni, 19-20). However, a typical Florentine wedding would be a public affair. The two families would hold long negotiations concerning the marriage contract once the couple agreed privately that they would be wed. Once the negotiations were …show more content…
There was a private agreement between the couple that if Lusanna’s husband were to die Giovanni would marry her; this agreement was overheard by Giuliana Magaldi (Brucker, Giovanni, 72). Though, the marriage contract, Lusanna’s dowry, appears to have never been collected. Messer Stefano, Lusanna’s procurator, argued; “Beautiful Florintine women of lowly origins often married men who were their social superiors and who did not insist on a dowry from their brides.” For a marriage to be legal it was “sufficient that the two partied agreed freely… in the presence of witnesses (Brucker, Giovanni, 50-53).” Lastly, following the traditional wedding formation Giovanni placed a rings on Lusanna’s finger (Brucker, Giovanni,