Family in Europe History Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Family in Europe History - Coursework Example The Gratian solution to this problem was to suggest that marriage occurs in two stages, the first when consent is made and the second following intercourse. Although marriage was valid and binding after consent, it was made more intimate and complete only after intercourse. While this validated Mary and Joseph’s marriage, it still indicated their marriage wasn’t totally complete because, of course, Mary was a virgin. As a result, this solution didn’t satisfy the Christian concerns. The Lombard solution relied on semantics. Rather than suggesting that simple consent was necessary, Lombard suggested that this consent had to be made in the present tense, which distinguishes it as a marriage contract, therefore making Mary and Joseph’s marriage complete. This was distinguishable from a betrothal simply because it was uttered in the present tense; betrothals were made in future tense. Because it satisfied both concerns regarding how to distinguish marriage from betrothal and validated the marriage of Jesus and Mary, this definition of marriage was accepted, but it also introduced a significant shift in family power as regional lords, the church and the parents all lost the ability to forbid marriage, retaining only the power to disapprove of it. The agnatic lineage traces family kinship ties through the father’s line only. The women were completely ejected from the equation and any sense that the matrilineal line is the only sure line of descent was lost. This caused women to lose a great deal of their worth. As mentioned, they were no longer important to the family line other than to provide the means of acquiring the next generation. This loss caused them to also lose any claims of inheritance or particular care within their childhood family unit. Once they were married, they ceased to be of any importance to their birth family at all as any of their labors and the children they bear then belong to the family of the husband. By removing half of