Where does marriage come from?

Though no one knows for sure, many historians believe marriage is over 4000 years old!  Before marriage, anthropologists think that people wandered around in groups together, hunting and gathering, with no need for any types of developed arrangements of relationships.  However, as people became more settled and civilizations began developing, more formalized relationships developed.  The first marriage record is in 2350 B.C., in Mesopotamia, marrying one man and one woman.  These marriages continued over the next several hundred years. 

During this time, the primary purpose of marriage was to ensure that the man who wedded the woman was producing offspring.  And, most importantly, that these offspring were his rightful heirs.  For example, in ancient Greece, a woman being pledged for marriage would be given to her prospective groom with these words from her father:  ‘I pledge my daughter for producing legitimate offspring.’  While women were expected to remain loyal to their husbands sexually, many cultures allowed men to take multiple wives.  Some cultures allowed men to have concubines or to spend their time with prostitutes as well.

Marriage and the Church

In Europe in the 1500s, there was no legal alternative for a religion other than the Roman Catholic Church.  Thus, at this time, it was required that for a marriage to be legal, it must be performed by a priest.  A marriage performed by a priest was considered a religious ceremony.   For many women, the church is involved with marriage was beneficial.  Scripture from the Bible stated that men were to be faithful and respectful to their wives.  However, some men ignored this and pointed to other verses that said men were the head of the household.

Marriage and Love

Marriage was often arranged for procreation or business profits, money, or family until more modern times.  Those who wanted to marry for love were called “foolish.”  As scholars have noted, the idea of romantic love only goes as far back as the middle ages.  Some argue that this idea was from the French.  Others state it comes from Sir Lancelot’s love for another’s wife.