A. Certain Prefatory Remarks about Impediments to Matrimony

6. Here I preface certain things in general about impediments to matrimony. For some impediments to matrimony are from the nature of the contract, others from the condition of the person contracting, and others are from a statute of the Church. The first impediments are about the conditions of the contract, the second about the conditions of the persons contracting.

7. Now in the persons contracting there are two conditions in general, namely impotence simply and tie to another matrimonially or by matrimonial bond.

8. The first was spoken of above, where impotence was discussed [d.34 nn.9-28].

9. The second impeding condition is contained in the verses.A mnemonic cited by several authors, as: vow, condition, violence, spiritual proximity, error, dissimilar faith, age, crime, blood, union, time. ⁹⁷ And it is plain that if one is tied to another by matrimonial bond one does not have power over one’s body and so cannot give it, because no one can give to another what he does not have, I mean in the New Law. And this will be dealt with in d.38 nn.16-19.

10. From the nature of the contract there is a multiple impediment: for one is compulsion, and this was spoken about above [d.29 nn.21-33]. Another impediment is error, and this is triple, for either it is error of person (for there should be distinction of sex, as man and woman); or it is error in condition of person (as when he intends to give his body to a free woman, and yet he or she is a slave; but a slave cannot give an equal gift to a free person, as conversely, because he does not have power over his own body, but it belongs to his master, and these matters of error impede not only the contract of matrimony but every exchange); or it is error in the contract, which is ‘I give if you give’ (for when one gives in words exteriorly and not in mind or intention interiorly but is lying, then in no way is there a contract, as was above [d.26n.36, d.30 nn.12-13]; and likewise about the other two errors). There are, therefore, three errors from the nature of the contract.

11. Another impediment is a condition repugnant to the contract, namely against procreation or education of offspring, as ‘I give myself to you such that I prevent offspring by procuring poison for sterility, or that I do not keep faith with you’; this is nothing because it contradicts matrimony and the good of it.

12. Another impediment is about a non-perpetual bond, as ‘I give myself to you not perpetually but until another comes along who pleases me more’.

13. So there are, therefore, seven impediments to matrimony: two on the part of the contracting parties and five on the part of the contract. And force or fear is another impediment, and so there are eight.

14. There are other impediments from statute of the Church, and these are three in kind: first from too close kinship on the part of the persons; second is some obligation made for divine cult; third is great crime. On account of these three reasons does the Church delegitimize certain persons.

15. By obligation to the cult of God there is a double impediment to matrimony, namely vow of continence and reception of Orders.

16. Likewise, a twofold kinship impedes matrimony, namely carnal and spiritual.

17. But the vow of continence is double, as below in d.38 nn.7-11.