How were concubines viewed in ancient Chinese society?

Social status. Women in concubinage (妾) were treated as inferior, and expected to be subservient to any wife under traditional Chinese marriage (if there was one). The women were not wedded in a whole formal ceremony, had less right in the relationship, and could be divorced arbitrarily.

Did Vikings have multiple wives?

Polygyny was common among Vikings, and rich and powerful Viking men tended to have many wives and concubines. Viking men would often buy or capture women and make them into their wives or concubines.

Can a concubine inherit from a Roman citizen?

One of the effects of Pericles’s (495–429 bce) citizenship law of 451 bce was to limit the ability of concubines’ children to inherit. They inherited only when a man had no children by his recognized wife. In ancient Rome, concubinage had a somewhat different status.

Was it ever acceptable for a married man to have a concubine?

“In the ancient Near East, it was acceptable for a married man to have a secondary wife or concubine, so long as he had the resources to support a large family. Apart from working in the home and providing sexual companionship, a major role for a concubine would be to produce children, to increase the work force in a household.

Was concubinage forbidden in the Middle Ages?

In the Middle Ages concubinage was formally forbidden by the rabbis as immoral, only one authority, Jacob *Emden (responsum no. 15) expressing the opinion that it should be permitted. A concubine may be defined by Jewish laws as a woman dedicating herself to a particular man, with whom she cohabits without *kiddushin (see *Marriage ) or *ketubbah .

What does the Bible say about royal concubines?

Royal concubines were standard among the kings of Israel and Judah, just as in any ancient Near Eastern kingdom (Song 6:8–9). They were clearly distinguished from the wives (II Sam. 5:13; I Kings 11:13; II Chron. 11:21). To lie with a monarch’s concubine was tantamount to usurpation of the throne (II Sam.