Was Medieval Marriage Traditional

In the article, “Was Medieval Marriage ‘Traditional?’”, Jessica Legacy discusses the characteristics of marriage that are most often viewed as ‘traditional’ and how these evolved throughout the Middle Ages. Generally, ‘traditional’ marriage ideals shifted to follow the church and Christianity. These ideals and shifts were often heavily influenced by the ruler at the time and his relationship with the church. The popes had influence as well and debates often led to an examination of what was considered proper for marriage. Many of these debates centered around the role and legitimacy of sex during marriage, where people were married, and how interconnected Christianity and marriage should necessarily be.

Legacy began by quoting Justice

Thus began a sexual debate that largely included marriage. “In order to remove marriage from the sexual debate, Pope Alexander III changed the marital law: consummation was no longer the deciding factor for marital union”. Marriage changed over time in order to conform to the existing societal trends. ‘Traditional’ marriage changed to better serve the people whilst instilling Christian and church ideals. ‘Traditional’ marriage henceforth does not exist, due, in part, to the fact that marriage laws were altered and aspects of marriage were often debated. During the Middle Ages, the church began to hold more power and influence over marriage. However, “Despite increased church oversight, most marriage practices were left to local customs. In fact, being married in a church was not required by church law until the sixteenth century”. Being married in a church is a main trend that occurs in ‘traditional’ marriages in the twenty first century, but it was not always a necessity or a convention that was followed. Marriage practices varied based on where people lived, although the church did strive to maintain some control over the marriage