Married Life in the Middle Ages, 900-1300

An analysis of the lived experience of Christian married life in Christian medieval Europe, this study examines the process of getting married and wedding celebrations; the married life of lay couples and clergy, their sexuality, and any remarriage; and alternative living, including concubinage, polygyny, and the single life.

List of contents

• Introduction


• Part I: Getting Married


• 1: Making of Marriage


• 2: Wedding Celebrations


• Part II: Married Life


• 3: Sexuality and Love


• 4: Authority and Collaboration


• 5: End of Marriage and Remarriage


• 6: Clerical Marriages


• Part III: Alternative Living


• 7: Living with One or More Partners


• 8: Single Life


• Conclusion


• Bibliography

About the author

Elisabeth van Houts is Honorary Professor in European Medieval History at the University of Cambridge. Born in the Netherlands, she received her doctorate from the University of Groningen in 1982. Since 1984, she has lived and worked in Cambridge where she teaches medieval history, and has been a Fellow of Emmanuel College since 1997. The University of Cambridge awarded her a DLitt (a higher doctorate) in 2001 and the title of Honorary Professor in European Medieval History in 2011. Van Houts has published widely on Anglo-Norman history, the history of women and gender, and medieval historiography and memory.

Summary

An analysis of the lived experience of Christian married life in Christian medieval Europe, this study examines the process of getting married and wedding celebrations; the married life of lay couples and clergy, their sexuality, and any remarriage; and alternative living, including concubinage, polygyny, and the single life.

Additional text

Married Life in the Middle Ages, 900-1300 is an important book for any scholar investigating marriage. While no one book can provide a completely comprehensive view of marriage in the medieval world, this one comes admirably close...Engagingly written, van Houts' study of medieval marriage is a must-read for anyone interested in the social history of the Middle Ages.

Product details

• Authors: van Houts , Elisabeth Van Houts, van Houts, Elisabeth van Houts, Elisabeth (Honorary Professor in Europe Van Houts, Elisabeth (Honorary Professor in European Medieval History van Houts
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.09.2021
• EAN: 9780192856371
• ISBN: 978-0-19-285637-1
• No. of pages: 312
• Series: Oxford Studies in Medieval European History; Oxford Studies in Medieval Eur
• Subjects: Guides > Self-help, everyday life > Family; Humanities, art, music > History > Middle Ages; European History, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / Marriage & Family, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Archaeology, CE period up to c 1500, Medieval History, Archaeology, Sociology: family & relationships, Social and cultural history, Sociology: family and relationships, History and Archaeology, European history: medieval period, middle ages, HISTORY / Europe / Medieval, C 500 CE To C 1000 CE