The Characteristics Of Marriage In The Medieval Era

As a teenager in the Elizabethan era, you would generally leave home to live with another family. The only exceptions to this were poor labourers, who needed all the help they could get. Sending teenagers away to live with another family was pretty much an universal custom for the middle and upper class families. Some people would of found it odd if someone kept their teen in their house. Though, parents will be parents, with parents worrying sick about their child. They would regularly send long letters, normally asking about their grades, how their family is and if they were well fed.

Marriage, a tradition that has been practiced throughout history, unifies two people in a personal relationship. Marriage has been a topic of controversy for ages. Whether it be in ancient Greece, in the Elizabethan Era, or in modern times, there are differences and similarities in marriages and relationships between these three time periods. As shown in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, marriages in ancient Greece were very strict. Marrying someone during the Elizabethan Era meant that a person would have almost no say in their marriage. In modern times, however, people are allowed to pick out their suitor, but even in this time and age, there are some limitations of who a person can marry. These limitations, based on

Before the eighteenth century, marriage was far less complicated. Verbal consent and consumation constituted legal marriage: "once the knot was tied by such verbal exchanges it could not be

In the Renaissance period, marriage was far different and much longer process than it is today. Particularly in the Elizabethan era, marriages were frequently arranged so that both families involved would benefit. Marriages would be arranged to bring prestige, honour and wealth to the family. For the upper class, marriage rarely involved love. Courting outside of one’s class was strictly forbidden and punishable by death in some circumstances. Marriage followed a strict set of protocols that signify maturity and coming into one’s own. In this time, dowries often played a large part in the decision to marry. A dowry, is the custom in which involves an interchange of cash, jewels, foods, estates between the father

The main difference between marriages now and in the past is that in this case, the marriages were arranged, and there was no choice in who you married ("Elizabethan Wedding Customs" 1).

By studying both texts, it becomes clear that over time the process of determining relationships has strongly shifted. In the Regency Era, high born families and gentlemen populated most of upper society. Marriages were decided strategically and politically in order to secure a relationship with a noble. Although mostly sought as a bridge to high

A women from the medieval times, who is known as ‘The Wife’ from a poem called The Wife of Bath’s Tale is married to five men at the age of twelve-years-old: three young, and two were old. During those times, it was frowned upon due to the strong beliefs

Furthermore, objectification through forced marriage, in these medieval times, was a real prospect for many women in addition to Christina. In medieval times, individuals did not come together because of love, and marriage was similar to exchanging property (Decameron 2011). The idea of exchanging property equates the notion of marriage between a man and a woman into something that is more a trade and barter, rather than a unique bond between individuals. This objectifies women because it turns them into objects that can be owned and exchanged. The expectations for this time were also that women were to marry and have children.

The meaning of a marriage was for power, like a battle that could only be won by who own more land than the other.“ In the Early Modern period, marriage was an engagement which could be undertaken in a bewildering variety ways, and the mere definition of it is fraught with difficulties” (Stone 30). There were quite a few difficulties of being in a marriage of this time such as it just being a like contract or forcing someone into it from birth: “The result was many bastards and many half-siblings, who acted as a reserve for inheritance if the officials male heir failed” (Stone 30). Today it is unacceptable to marry a brother. If we want power, we can go to school, and learn how to change the world ourselves instead of marrying to keep or get power. The rich marriage was a little

Marriages were most commonly arranged by the fathers of the young people. In the lower classes, marriages were often arranged with the children of neighbors or friends. Because of this, most lower class husbands and wives knew each other before marriage. The nobility arranged marriages further outside of the family and often, the two people getting married met for the first time on their wedding day. Once they were married, Shakespearean Era women were expected to obey their husbands as they had obeyed their fathers before marriage.

In sixteenth century England, marriages were usually arranged. This seemed like a great idea at the time because both families would benefit from the marriages, often with increasing wealth or property. Even though most people already knew their spouse before they were married, it must have been tough for them not to have any choice in who would become their husband or wife. Divorces were a foreign concept to these ancient people, though occasionally marriages would be annulled, or declared they had never been valid. We are no less careful in our marriages than people in the sixteenth centre, yet annulling a marriage was way less common back then.

The economics of marriage was not the only pressure on children to marry where their parents directed. Sixteenth-century children, and girls in particular, were very much brought up to obey, and to believe that it was their duty to their parents… to marry the person chosen for them. It would have taken a very strong-minded girl indeed to have refused to follow her parents’ wishes. Girls who did refuse the partner offered could find themselves bullied by their parents. (3)

In the late 1800’s through early 1900’s women and men were did not “tie the knot” like the women and men do in today’s day. In today’s world, women and men get married because they have many things in common, they are in love with each other, and they choose to get married to one another. In many stories written back then, readers can expect to read about how marriages were arranged and how many people were not having the wedded bliss marriage proclaims today.

Elizabethan marriages were a very large ordeal involving not only the town but the families of both parties. The large ordeal was not only unnecessary but also very time consuming and stressful. Marriages, birth, and deaths were all the three cycles of life that were dealt with in the church (Evans 6-7). Marriages that were done by law and not church were not registered as there were no witnesses to the betrothal. Church marriages were common and proper as they would be recorded by the pastor (Harrison 1640). Fathers could get rid of their daughters by marrying them off or if he didn’t, when the daughter came of age, the parents would arrange a marriage for the young teenaged girl to a much older man (Evans 6-7). At fourteen, a child had been responsible for all their actions long ago and was now ripe with puberty and at thirty, a man could be financially stable enough to provide for a bride and any children she might bring. All the girl’s possessions would go to the man so wealthy women never remained single for long. If problems in the marriage arose, nothing could be done because the rules of the church stated that marriage lasted until the death of each party. Not only were marriages done without the age of both parties in mind, but marriages were not for love. Families married to carry on the family surname and increase possessions and

As children or hirelings, ladies shared subjection with men who involved the same parts. As it were as spouses did they cause subjection that was particular to their sex. Be that as it may, they accepted the hitched state intentionally. Christian convention had long set up the run the show that free and deliberate assent of both accomplices made a substantial marriage.