ABSTRACT
“Authorities” outlines the legal treatment given to concubinage, both through the promulgation of laws and the prosecution of crime associated with sexual behavior. Though concubinage was never explicitly prohibited legally, much of the behavior involved in the union was. Concubinage could involve fornication, adultery, even deflowering. But rather than attacking the concubinal union and these behaviors, we see both secular and ecclesiastical authorities working together to manage the dangerous behaviors concomitant with it. I will describe efforts at reform and the practical ways the community found other paths that suited the authorities.
