The history of marriage is a branch of social history that concerns the sociocultural evolution of socially or legally recognized unions between people called spouses, from prehistoric to modern times. Research on the history of marriage crosses disciplines and cultures, aiming to understand the structure and function of the family from many viewpoints. The study of history has shown that marriage, like other family systems, is flexible, culturally diverse and adaptive to ecological and economical conditions.van den Berghe 1979, p. 50.
The history of marriage is often considered under history of the family or legal history.for the historiography see Frederik J. G. Pedersen, "Marriage" in
Prehistory Marriage likely originated among Stone Age humans as a way to organize childrearing and daily work. While the theory of a male provider — who hunted for and protected his wife and children — has largely been dismissed by modern anthropologists, there was a division of labor between early men and women. Nursing women were much less capable of hunting large game, and instead focused on gathering and processing plants and smaller game (contributing the vast majority of a clan's food). This specialization led to greater interdependence between males and females, and as techniques became more advanced, it took longer to teach them to children, incentivizing parents to stay together longer.Coontz, Stephanie. (2005). Marriage, a History: From Obedience to Intimacy, or How Love Conquered Marriage. New York: Viking Press, Penguin Group Inc. pp. 125–29, . Still, the nuclear family was not the defining social institution — no individual family had enough resources to be independent, so larger clans were crucial for a family's survival. Likewise, unmarried women did not lack the support of their community. Marriages outside of immediate clan groups also allowed bands to forge relationships with one another by way of children who had parental ties to both groups. Smaller family groups would sometimes split off from their band and later join up with another.
As societies began to develop larger surpluses, and began to settle into more agrarian, sedentary structures, marriage became more important. Wealthier families became less interested in sharing resources, and instead began to use marriage as a tool to consolidate those resources within the family or between a few closely linked kin groups. Studies of genetic material have shown that endogamy became increasingly common among wealthier families.
Ancient world
As wealthy families accumulated more and more resources, and people were subject to more taxation, inheritance rights became of greater concern, and marriage came to play an important role in many ancient societies. Marriage became one of the best ways for people to climb the income ladder and recruit economic partners. Both men and women came under more pressure from families to choose the "correct" spouse for the family's interests.Karen Sacks, “Engels Revisited: Women, the Organization of Production, and Private Property,” in Michelle Rosaldo and Louise Lamphere, eds., Women, Culture, and Society (Palo Alto, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1974). The earliest written records show that by the time writing was invented, marriage became the way most wealth and land changed hands. Nevertheless, marriages were typically private affairs and ancient governments rarely got involved.
With larger amounts of wealth at stake, the distinction between "legitimate" and "illegitimate" children grew sharper. Because women had the unique ability to bear a child with an "impure" bloodline, generally their sexual behavior was more strictly supervised, especially among the aristocracy. Some societies developed elaborate ideas about female sexual purity, or forced illegitimate children into exile or slavery. In some cases, wealthy families resorted to marrying cousins or siblings to keep wealth in the family.
Among the working class, children were still vitally important as a workforce. As economies shifted toward agriculture, families needed larger numbers of children to handle their workloads. Infertile women were often cast aside.
The invention of the plow widened the division of labor between men and women. Plowing required greater physical strength and was less compatible with childcare, and therefore became associated with male labor. The belief, therefore, that men contributed more to a household's resources led to the proliferation of the dowry. The increase in warfare between emerging societies also raised men and lowered women in the social hierarchy — devaluing women and contributing to the idea that their presence in a family needed to be compensated in some way. Over time, in many societies, women became seen as the properties of their fathers or husbands.Joan Huber, “Comparative Gender Stratification,” in Janet Chafetz, ed., Handbook of the Sociology of Gender (New York: Kluwer, 1999), pp. 70-76. Where women could no longer choose their own mates, men now needed to win over their fathers.
Among the aristocracy, marriage became the site of political intrigue. Rulers typically used their ancestry to support their claims to their respective thrones, so legitimacy was crucial. Factions of ruling circles fought over who had the right to legitimize marriage and bloodlines — arguments which often had serious historical ramifications. Marriages — often temporary — were used to codify treaties and solidify relationships between different cities and even empires. Heads of state would often ratify treaties or trade deals with a marriage; those daughters in turn were expected to represent their fathers' interests in their new families. Wealthy men often had multiple wives (and occasionally, powerful women would have multiple husbands) to expand their influence, but this also risked producing many competing heirs. Women would plot to overthrow their own husbands or sons-in-law in order to install their own male relatives to power, and sometimes wielded significant influence over their own men. Wives sometimes killed other wives or their children, out of jealousy or fear of losing influence.
Generally, slaves were forbidden from having their own wives or households.
Africa
Ancient Egypt The primary purpose of marriage was to have more children and descendants of the family, and to legitimize inheritance rights. Marriages were typically arranged by parents.
Among commoners, marriages were typically informal affairs. A couple was considered married once they had established a household together, and marriage did not require any special license or state approval. Propertied families, however, typically drew up prenuptial contracts for their own benefit.
Among the lower classes, husbands and wives worked together to manage businesses. Among the upper classes, women usually did not work outside the home, and instead supervised the servants of the household and their children's education.
Generally, women made more family decisions and controlled more of the home than in other ancient societies. Women had control over most of their property and could serve as legal persons who brought cases to court. Men who married higher-status women often were forced to yield to significant pressure from their wives and fathers-in-law. Even pharaohs frequently found themselves under the control of their mothers. Widows gained more legal freedom after their husbands' deaths—notably, the ability to buy and sell land.
Marriage for pharaohs was a more politically treacherous affair. Pharaohs often had multiple wives, and upper-class men would often marry off their female relatives to pharaohs to solidify connections with the royal family and represent their interests. In-laws frequently fought over inheritance rights. To curb this, early pharaohs sometimes married their sisters or half-sisters; the heir's legitimacy was then perceived as essentially doubled. Other pharaohs purposely married the female relatives of previous rulers, proclaiming they were married to gods. In the eighth century BCE, one pharaoh revived an older practice of the "Divine Wife"—elevating a pharaoh's daughter to become a priestess committed to celibacy.
Although it was possible to divorce, it was difficult. Men often divorced their wives if they were unable to reproduce. After about 365 B.C, divorce laws strongly favored women.
At first, marriages in ancient Egypt were usually exclusive, but it also was not uncommon for a man of high economic status to have more than one wife, especially if his first wife was unable to have children of her own. After Alexander of Macedonia's empire broke apart late in the fourth century BCE, during the Seleucid and Ptolemaic dynasties, polygamy became more widespread in an effort to help kings establish more alliances.
Europe Roman historian Tacitus' research (which was conducted entirely through secondary sources) indicated that among ancient Germanic tribes, the bride and groom were roughly the same age and generally older than their Roman counterparts:The youths partake late of the pleasures of love, and hence pass the age of puberty unexhausted: nor are the virgins hurried into marriage; the same maturity, the same full growth is required: the sexes unite equally matched and robust, and the children inherit the vigor of their parents.Tacitus (by commentator Edward Brooks). 2013. The Germany and the Agricola of Tacitus. Project Gutenberg. Footnotes 121–122.The Visigothic Code of law in the 7th century placed the prime of life at 20 years for both men and women. states that ancient Germanic brides were on average about 20 and were roughly the same age as their husbands.Herlihy, David. (1985). Medieval Households. Harvard University Press, pp. 73–5, . In addition, Anglo-Saxon women, like those of other Germanic tribes, are marked as women from the age of 12 and older, based on archaeological finds, implying that the age of marriage coincided with puberty.Green, Dennis Howard and Siegmund, Frank. 2003. The Continental Saxons from the Migration Period to the Tenth Century. Boydell Press. p. 107
Ancient Greece
In the early years of ancient Greece, family ties were the primary way in which social life was organized. Marriages required no state intervention – only mutual agreement and the fact that the couple must regard each other as husband and wife accordingly. Marriage was primarily an economic arrangement, and romance had little to do with mate choice. One Greek orator in the fourth century BCE said, "We have [courtesans] for pleasure, concubines for the daily care of our body, but wives to bear us legitimate children and to be the trusted guardians of our household." The truest form of love was believed to be between an adult man and a much younger boy.
As Athenian reformers pushed for more robust government to prevent families from gaining too much power (as they were in city-states outside of Athens), they began to enact laws governing everyday life—including marriage. Legislation dictated that only children born of a state-sanctioned marriage could claim inheritance rights. Wills were invented to ensure property went to the preferred heir after death. Plato advocated for abolishing the family altogether to ensure people were truly loyal to the state.
Athenian leaders curbed the power of extended families by cutting wives off not just from their parents, but the larger world. Women were expected to take care of the house and bear children. In wealthier families, this was taken to an extreme—women were not allowed out of their homes and inner courtyards. This also became a sign of wealth, indicating that a family had enough money that their women did not need to lift a finger. In other cases, aristocratic women were allowed out in the company of male relatives. However, lower-class women continued to work as laundresses, seamstresses, bakers, and innkeepers.