Definition
Nuptiae secundae (Latin: "second marriage") is a term from canon law referring to any marriage contracted subsequent to a first marriage. The term encompasses remarriage following dissolution of a prior marriage, whether by death of a spouse or by other lawful means recognized under ecclesiastical authority. It does not refer to a second ceremony for the same union, but strictly to a new marriage entered into after a prior valid marriage has ended.
---
Common Confusion
The Black's Law Dictionary (2nd Ed.) entry for this term appears corrupted or conflated in transmission, running together a portion of the definition of "nuptiae secundae" with an unrelated entry on nurture (the rearing and education of children, citing Regina v. Clarke, 7 El. & Bl. 193). Researchers should treat the nurture reference as a printing or transcription artifact — it belongs to a separate headword — and not as part of the legal definition of nuptiae secundae. This is a known hazard in older dictionary editions where typesetting errors caused entries to bleed into one another.
---
Why It Matters in Research
This term appears almost exclusively in ecclesiastical law sources and canonical treatises, not in common law cases or statutes. Researchers working in pre-Reformation English law, Roman Catholic canon law materials, or comparative marriage law will encounter it most frequently.
The canonical significance of nuptiae secundae was substantial: the Church historically viewed second marriages with some disfavor relative to first marriages, and certain liturgical and legal consequences attached — for example, a widow or widower contracting a second marriage might be subject to restrictions on reception of the nuptial blessing in some canonical traditions. Understanding this context is essential for interpreting ecclesiastical court records, penitential literature, and canon law commentaries.
Because the term is Latin and appears in Latinized legal sources, researchers should be alert to spelling variants: nuptiae secundae is the standard form; nuptiz secundz (as sometimes rendered in corrupted printed sources) is a transcription artifact of the long-s and abbreviation conventions used in early printed legal texts, not a distinct term.
In historical corpus research, if a source uses the abbreviated or corrupted form, it almost certainly intends nuptiae secundae. Do not treat variant spellings as separate concepts requiring independent verification.
---
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's Law Dictionary (2nd Ed.) provides the essential canonical definition — any marriage subsequent to the first — which is consistent with the standard treatment in Roman and canon law sources. The Digest and canonical commentators such as Gratian's Decretum address the status of second marriages within the broader framework of matrimonial law.
Historical dictionaries are thin on this term beyond the bare definition. Researchers needing fuller treatment should consult canonical treatises directly rather than relying on law dictionary entries, which offer only the threshold definition.
The corrupted Black's entry (noted above under Common Confusion) is a practical obstacle: a researcher encountering that entry cold may be misled into thinking nurture law is somehow connected to the concept. It is not.
---
Jurisdictional Note
This term is operative in ecclesiastical and canon law contexts, not in the common law of any modern jurisdiction. In contemporary legal systems, remarriage is governed entirely by civil statute, and nuptiae secundae has no operative legal significance outside historical and comparative analysis.
---