Concubinage (law)

In contemporary civil law, concubinage is a legal term that is sometimes used for an interpersonal, intimate relationship between a man and a woman, or, depending on the jurisdiction, unmarried couple,[1][2] in which the couple wish to cohabit, but do not want to or cannot enter into a full marriage.[3]

In the legal system of the Philippines, concubinage also has a distinct criminal usage in the 1930 Revised Penal Code, relating to adultery. It is quite distinct from other legal usage.

The term concubinage also has a wider usage as a term relating to the keeping of concubines[4] that has been applied to a wide variety of historical situations that have entailed various degrees of freedom, power and privilege for the women involved. In the twenty-first century, the term has come primarily to refer either to an extramarital mistress or a sex slave.[3]

  1. ^ Kelleher, M.A. (December 2002). "'Like man and wife': clerics' concubines in the diocese of Barcelona". Journal of Medieval History. 28 (4): 349–360. doi:10.1016/S0304-4181(02)00041-6. S2CID 159811026.
  2. ^ Sánchez-Cordero, A. (Spring 1981). "Cohabitation without Marriage in Mexico". American Journal of Comparative Law. 29 (2): 279–284. doi:10.2307/839621. JSTOR 839621.
  3. ^ a b Kushner, Nina (2008). "Concubinage". In Smith, Bonnie G. (ed.). The Oxford encyclopedia of women in world history. Oxford [England]: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195148909.
  4. ^ Collins English dictionary (3rd updated ed.). Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers. 1994. p. 334. ISBN 9780004706788.