Before the Reformation, the extensive marriage bars for kinship meant that most noble marriages necessitated a papal dispensation, which could later be used as grounds for annulment if the marriage proved politically or personally inconvenient, although there was no divorce as such.
Most noble marriages necessitated a papal dispensation. This was what the extensive marriage bars for kinship meant before the Reformation. A papal dispensation could later be used as grounds for annulment. The marriage proved politically. A papal dispensation could later be personally inconvenient. There was no divorce as such.