A Cultural History Of Marriage A Cultural History Of Marriage In The Medieval Age

Could an institution as sacred and traditional as marriage undergo a revolution? Some people living during the so-called Age of Enlightenment thought so. By marrying for that selfish, personal emotion of love rather than to serve religious or family interests, to serve political demands or the demands of the pocketbook, a few but growing number of people revolutionized matrimony around the end of the eighteenth century. Marriage went from being a sacred state, instituted by the Church and involving everyone to – for a few intrepid people – a secular contract, a deal struck between two individuals based entirely on their mutual love and affection. Few would claim today that love is not the cornerstone of modern marriage. The easiest argument in favor of any marriage today, no matter how star-crossed the individuals, is that the couple is deeply and hopelessly in love with one another. But that was not always so clear. Before the eighteenth century very few couples united simply because they shared a mutual attraction and affection for one another. Yet only a century later most people would come to believe that mutual love and even attraction were necessary for any marriage to succeed. A Cultural History of Marriage in the Age of Enlightenment explores the ways that new ideas, cultural ideals, and economic changes, big and small, reshaped matrimony into the institution that it is today, allowing love to become the ultimate essential ingredient for modern marriages. A Cultural History of Marriage in the Age of Enlightenment presents an overview of the period with essays on Courtship and Ritual; Religion, State and Law; Kinship and Social Networks; the Family Economy; Love and Sex; the Breaking of Vows; and Representations of Marriage.

Marriage in Europe became a central pillar of society during the medieval period. Theologians, lawyers, and secular and church leaders agreed on a unique outline of the institution and its legal framework, the essential features of which remained in force until the 1980s. The medieval Western European definition of marriage was unique: before the legal consequences of marriage came into being, the parties had to promise to engage in sexual union only with one partner and to remain in the marriage until one of the parties died. This requirement had profound implications for inheritance rules and for the organization of the family economy; it was explained and justified in a multitude of theological discussions and legal decisions across all faiths on the European continent. Normative texts, built on the foundations of the scriptures of several religious traditions, provided an impressive intellectual framework around marriage. In addition, developments in iconography, including sculpture and painting, projected the dominant model of marriage, while social, demographic and cultural changes encouraged its adoption. This volume traces the medieval discussion of marriage in practice, law, theology and iconography. It provides an examination of the wider political and economic context of marriage and offers an overview of the ebb and flow of society's ideas about how expressions of human sexuality fit within the confines of a clearly defined social structure and ideology. A Cultural History of Marriage in the Medieval Age presents an overview of the period with essays on Courtship and Ritual; Religion, State and Law; Kinship and Social Networks; the Family Economy; Love and Sex; the Breaking of Vows; and Representations of Marriage.