ABSTRACT
In 1540 a law of Henry VIII either reduced or removed many of the existing abuses that had allowed annulment of existing marriages. The previous loose impediment rules concerning consanguinity and affinity were now restricted to the Levitical degrees presented in the Book of Common Prayer. Reducing malleable canonical loopholes meant divorce a mensa et thoro’s importance increased as a legal easement for shattered marriages. But the remedy brought no relief for those wishing to marry anew.
