A woman who is involved in a monogamous
relationship with a man but is not legally married to him. An old term for a kept woman or girlfriend.
She is usually a willing participant in the
relationship and
may be of any social status.
Anne Boleyn was just a concubine in the eyes of her opponents and she was slandered as a
homewrecker; Katherine of Aragon was Henry VIII's true queen in their eyes.
The harem of the palace did house the Sultan'
s wives and concubines, but it typically also housed all of the
women of the palace, including his mother, sisters, aunts, and cousins.
Queen Catherine de' Medici resented her husband'
s dalliances with his much older concubine, Diane de Poitiers.
The senator'
s wife was indignant, barely containing her rage when she confronted her husband about the secret series of concubines that he had.