The transmission of property was arguably the foremost important reason for marriage amongst aristocratic circles. Aristocratic women were seen as symbols of property. The dowry and lands provided by her father were what was used to attract a suitable husband. The arrangement of a marriage was a family affair made up of complex political alliances and economic agreements. In his book, Love and Marriage in the Middle Ages, Georges Duby makes a crucial point about why the correct marriage was of extreme importance. He says, ‘For what matters is the reproduction not only of individuals but also of the cultural system which unites them.’ (3) It seems that the inheritance of property was of importance only to the men in the family, however, women had more control over their property than one might assume. Firstly, the shift in inheritance systems after 1000 from partible to primogeniture inheritance saw an increase in the number of non-eldest sons searching for an heiress to marry and set up a household with. This demonstrates one form of power women had. Another source of power for women was in the domestic domain; when her husband was gone she had to take control of his lands. Christine de Pisan wrote; ‘The men are usually at court or in distant countries. So the ladies will have responsibilities for managing their property, their revenues and their lands.’ (4) in the early 1400s.
The raising of children was the other important factor in marriage. An heir must be produced to carry on the family name and to inherit the lands. Georges Duby writes that, ‘[the wife] must fulfil her primary function, that of providing children to the group of men who received, dominated and kept watch over her.’ (5) The production of an heir and the practical raising of the children was not the only role an aristocratic woman played in the process of bringing up her children. She also played an important part in helping them understand their heritage and in turn, was important in preserving the family’s history. Elisabeth van Houts writes in her book Memory and Gender in Medieval Europe 900 – 1200 about how women partook of ‘‘hidden’ activities as preservers of knowledge about the past.’ (6) She points out that ‘[women] were aware of their role and ‘value’ and from generation to generation an heiress, having become a mother, would have explained this to her daughter, the next heiress.’ (7) Mothers taught their children the names of their ancestors in case they ever had to prove themselves as legitimate heirs. This point about how women spent time collecting and preserving historical information provides an insight into one aspect of the lives of medieval women that is not well publicised.
The Church’s involvement in secular marriage was limited to say the least. This is partially due to the business-like way in which marriage was conducted and partly due to the lack of clear Christian direction on the matter. However, from the 11th Century onwards, reforms began to take place. Gratian’s Canon Law on Marriage sets out a number of contradictory rules for marriage which were probably ignored by the aristocracy. The Church introduced the idea of consent as opposed to consummation. This idea was a positive one for the women who were forced to consummate their marriages in the hope of producing an heir. One example of a young woman refusing to consummate a marriage that had been arranged for some time was Christina of Markyate. She had made a vow to join the church at a young age and it is written that, ‘Although she was married, her former intentions were not changed, and she freely expressed her determination not to submit to the physical embraces of any man.’ (8) In this case, Christina was allowed to leave her husband and join the Church. This highlights that some aristocratic did go against the grain and join the Church; something which would have most likely been strongly contested by her family. The Church caused problems by not permitting marriage to close relatives and two famous examples of a marriage being contested are the case of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII of France and Ingeborg of Denmark and Philip II Augustus of France. A final point about the Church’s involvement in aristocratic marriage relates to its views on procreation; in The Book of Vices and Virtues: Blessings of Marriage it is stated that married couples should ‘hope to have children to serve with God’. To summarise the Church’s involvement in marriage, Georges Duby writes that ‘The Church first offered a moral code for a good married life’ (9) and this code went some way to benefitting the young aristocratic women who were being essentially traded between their families for money, lands and political power.
Courtly love was another aspect of life for some medieval aristocratic wives. George Duby dedicates a chapter to it in his book, Love and Marriage in the Middle Ages. He describes it as ‘a joust’ and ‘a man’s game’ (10). The phenomenon increased in popularity during the second half of the 12th Century with a surge of progress in a process of ‘civilization’. Duby explains the basic set up of courtly love. He writes that a young man, often a knight, would attempt to woo a married aristocratic woman. It was sometimes seen as exploitation of noble wives and as an education for the young men. The whole system seems rather complicated but it did impact on the lives of some aristocratic women and therefore it is an important aspect to include. The only benefit of courtly love for aristocratic women was that they got to experience romance, probably for the first time. However, as the woman was already married, she could not act publicly on her new-found love.
When a wife outlived her husband she gained a significant amount of control. The dower her left her would provide her with her own lands and wealth; up to a third of the value of her husband’s. Christine de Pisan was left widowed at the age of twenty five and she used her new found freedom to begin to study and write. The Book of Three Virtues was one of her most significant works. She wrote extensively about the female role in the domestic domain and highlights the power that women had; especially the power widows like her achieved.
In conclusion, marriage was, in most cases, a necessity for a young aristocratic woman. The two most important factors influencing marriage at the time were indeed the transmission of property and the raising of children. Both these factors were of relatively equal importance. However, there are exceptions to this rule. Cases of women joining the church as an alternative to marriage or living a life of widowhood after the death of their husband illustrate how life was not the same for all aristocratic women in the Middle Ages. Therefore it can be said that the statement “marriage was as much about the transmission of property as it was about the raising of children” is a generalisation which describes the lives of the aristocratic women of the period.
REFERENCES:
(1) E van Houts, Memory and Gender in Medieval Europe 900 – 1200, 1999 MacMillan Press, Page 78
(2) CC Swinton Bland, revised by John F Benton, Self and Society in Medieval France: The Memoirs of Abbot Guibert of Nogent, Harper and Row, 1970, Chapter 3
(3) G Duby, Love and Marriage in the Middle Ages, Blackwell, 1994, Page 3
(4) Christine de Pisan, A Medieval Woman’s Mirror of Honor: The Treasury of the City of Ladies, tr. Charity Cannon Willard, ed. Madeleine Pelner Cosman, Bard Hall Press, 1989
(5) G Duby, Love and Marriage in the Middle Ages, Blackwell, 1994, Page 8
(6) E van Houts, Memory and Gender in Medieval Europe 900 – 1200, 1999 MacMillan Press, Page 66
(7) E van Houts, Memory and Gender in Medieval Europe 900 – 1200, 1999 MacMillan Press, Page 78
(8) The Life of Christina of Markyate, a Twelfth Century Recluse, edited and translated by C H Talbot, Oxford Medieval Texts, 1987
(9) G Duby, Love and Marriage in the Middle Ages, Blackwell, 1994, Page 10
(10) G Duby, Love and Marriage in the Middle Ages, Blackwell, 1994, Page 58
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
- E van Houts, Memory and Gender in Medieval Europe 900 – 1200, 1999 MacMillan Press
- CC Swinton Bland, revised by John F Benton, Self and Society in Medieval France: The Memoirs of Abbot Guibert of Nogent, Harper and Row, 1970
- G Duby, Love and Marriage in the Middle Ages, Blackwell, 1994
- Christine de Pisan, A Medieval Woman’s Mirror of Honour: The Treasury of the City of Ladies, tr. Charity Cannon Willard, ed. Madeleine Pelner Cosman, Bard Hall Press, 1989
- The Life of Christina of Markyate, a Twelfth Century Recluse, edited and translated by C H Talbot, Oxford Medieval Texts, 1987
