Marriage has a long and varied history, reflecting the evolution of human civilization. While love is the most important reason for modern marriage, financial security, social status, and citizenship are also factors. Marriage has always been a social institution for procreation, with mate selection often left to elders. The history of marriage has been shaped by ancient Roman, Greek, and Jewish influence, as well as by Christianity and the Protestant Reformation. Marriage has experienced a makeover or a complete reinvention, with a growing movement towards recognizing legal unions between same-sex couples.
The history of marriage is as long and varied as the history of human beings. After all, it can be said that it is a reflection on the evolution of human civilization. While the practice of forging a union through marriage dates back to ancient cultures, there is little evidence that the custom ever originated from a romantic point of view. Indeed, the story of marriage is largely a commentary on the political, social and economic state at various times.
In the modern world, people get married for different reasons. The most important reason is, of course, love. However, some marry to obtain citizenship. Others marry for financial security or to raise social status. No matter what the reason, one fact about the formation of such a legal bond has remained unchanged throughout the history of marriage, it is a social institution created for the purpose of procreation. As a byproduct of this function, the procreation of children out of wedlock has rarely been approved by most societies.
The act of marriage has always entailed important social and economic responsibilities, not only for the spouses but also for the entire community. As such, mate selection was often a task left to an elder, such as a parent. Typically, this would have been the father or, in some cultures, an appointed village organizer. Indeed, in many parts of the world, arranged marriages have always been deemed necessary for the survival of social values. Of course, the business of arranging a suitable marriage for one’s son often also yielded the reward of a dowry for the bride-to-be’s parents, including an advance in the form of a ring.
Throughout the history of marriage, however, there have been significant shifts in perspective on what constituted wedded bliss. In ancient Greece and Rome, for example, marriage was perceived as a means of strengthening political ties, at least among the aristocracy. In the general population, being mateless was a condition that was not lost when its economic benefits were denied. In fact, sometimes women were forced to marry a male relative in the absence of a favorable suitor, while unmarried men were often excluded from civic activities as celibate and childless.
In the Western world, there is little doubt that the history of marriage has been shaped by ancient Roman, Greek and Jewish influence. In the medieval period, marriage customs began to change with the rise of Christianity and were largely dictated by religious doctrine. Later, marriage evolved into a more secular form of spiritual commitment with the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. However, just as with fashion, some concepts that have helped document the history of marriage have experienced a makeover or a complete reinvention.
For example, in the 1950s and early 1960s in the United States, delaying marriage or refusing to “tie the knot” was considered abnormal, even subversive. With the dawn of the sexual revolution of the early 1970s, marriage was no longer considered compulsory and unions were seen more as voluntary unions than matters of convenience. Today, the history of marriage is yet to be written as there is a growing movement towards recognizing a legal union between same-sex couples.
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