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Concubinage is the state of a woman in an ongoing, usually matrimonially-oriented relationship with a man who cannot be married to her, often because of a difference in social status.

[edit] Concubinage

A concubine is generally a woman in an ongoing, matrimonial-like relationship with a man, whom she cannot marry for any reason. The reason may be because she is of lower social rank than the man or because the man is already married. Generally, only men of high economic and social status have concubines. Many historical Asian, Europeans and Middle Eastern rulers maintained concubines as well as wives.^[1]

Historically, concubinage was frequently voluntary (by the woman and/or her family's arrangement), as it provided a measure of economic security for the woman involved. Involuntary, or servile, concubinage sometimes involves sexual slavery of one member of the relationship, typically the woman, being a pleasure slave to the man.^{[citation needed]}

Where it has a legal status, as in ancient Rome, and in ancient China, concubinage is akin, although inferior, to marriage. In opposition to those laws, traditional Western laws do not acknowledge the legal status of concubines, rather only admitting monogamous marriages. Any other relationship does not enjoy legal protection; the woman is essentially a mistress.

[edit] Concubinus

In Ancient Rome, this was the title of a young male who was chosen by his master as a lover. Concubini were often referred to ironically in the literature of the time. Catullus assumes in the wedding poem 61.126 that the young manor lord has a concubinus who considers himself elevated above the other slaves.

An Emperor of China with his concubines inspecting his fantasy fishing fleet

[edit] In the Bible

In the Bible (Book of Genesis 16 and 21), Abraham took the slave girl Hagar as a concubine. Since Sarah had not conceived up to this point, she offered her maidservant Hagar to Abraham to produce an heir. Abraham did marry Hagar, residing with her according to the Jewish laws of a Pilegesh (Hebrew for Concubine). She produced Ishmael. After a miracle occurred for Sarah, she became fertile in old age and gave birth to Isaac. Sarah then demanded that Abraham drive Ishmael, and Hagar his mother, out of the home and into the desert. Abraham found this to be a very difficult thing to do and it was only after finding out that God concurred with Sarah that he did this.

"King Solomon loved, in addition to the daughter of Pharaoh, many foreign women, Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had warned the Israelites. "You must not cohabit with them, nor they with you, for they will certainly turn your hearts to their gods". He had 700 official wives and 300 concubines...." (1 Kings 11:1-3).

In Genesis 22:24, Nahor, the brother of Abraham, had eight sons by his wife, Milcah, and four sons by his concubine, Reumah.

[edit] Other uses

[edit] France

In contemporary France, concubinage refers to cohabitation and carries no inequality connotations (see Concubinage en France).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ See Genesis 30

Look up concubine in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

[edit] External links

Servile Concubinage

[0] See Genesis 30

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