Bishop Ending a Marriage In this thirteenth-century illumination from a legal manual, a bishop ends a marriage. Marriage was first declared a sacrament by officials in the Catholic Church in the late eleventh century as part of the condemnation of the Cathars, and confirmed as such at the Fourth Lateran Council. Because of this, divorce was prohibited, although marriages could be annulled — that is, declared never to have been valid in the first place — for a variety of reasons, and annulments did occur, particularly for members of the nobility.

(Illustration on vellum from Digeste, 13th century/Bibliothèque Sainte-Genevieve, Paris, France/Archives Charmet/Bridgeman Images)