German betrothals, which could only be annulled for a serious reason, strongly resembled Latin ones—that is, they were a sale of the girl in anticipation by her legal owners. It was necessary for the girl to have the consent of her father, or her nearest relative, for her marriage. As widow, having been purchased, she belonged to the relatives of her dead husband, and could not marry again without their leave.[621] The feudalism of the Middle Ages was careful not to emancipate the woman, and she remained a minor, or even less, since the Code of Beaumanoir says (titre lvii.)—“Every husband can beat his wife when she will not obey his commands, or when she curses him or contradicts him, provided that he does it moderately, and that death does not follow in consequence.” Among the Saxons, the Burgundians, and the Germans in general, the widow was subjected to the rule of her eldest son as soon as he had attained the age of fifteen.
In the Middle Ages the woman surprised in committing adultery might be executed by her husband, who even had the right to call in the aid of her son.[622] In the ninth and tenth centuries, however, among the Saxons in England, an advance that was quite exceptional took place. The young girl could marry herself, was not repudiable at will, had her own property and her keys, and the penal law of her husband ceased to weigh upon her.[623] This progress was quite local, and operated spontaneously, quite independently of Christian influence. In fact, Christianity has only emancipated women spiritually, and its real influence on marriage has been injurious. Doubtless the Christian wife might hope to become a seraph in the next world, but in this she was only a servant or a slave. In Greco-Roman antiquity marriage had been considered, as it ought to be, a civil institution. Legislation, more or less sensible and intelligent, regarded it simply from the point of view of population.
Christianity, which taught that the earthly country was of no account, and taxed with impurity all that related to sexual union, made marriage a sacrament, and consequently an institution quite apart from humble considerations of social utility. All sexual union outside marriage was reputed criminal; the ideal preached to women was the mystic marriage with God. The pious Constantine increased all the penalties against sexual crimes. Adultery became again a capital offence; the woman guilty of marrying a slave was condemned to death;[624] marriage was declared indissoluble; second marriages were blameworthy. At the same time the fathers of the Church and the preachers did not cease to utter their thunders against woman, disparaging her, and abusing her as an impure creature, almost devilish. This encouraged the severe legislation of the barbarians in conjugal matters. I have previously mentioned some traits of these brutal laws. I shall return to them in speaking of questions connected with marriage, which remain still to be treated of—adultery, divorce, and widowhood. We shall then see how hurtful the influence of Christianity has been on marriage, and we shall come to the conclusion that in order to manage earthly affairs well, it is not good to keep our looks constantly raised to the skies.
FOOTNOTES:
[560] Exodus, xxi. 8-10.
[561] Genesis, ii. 24.
[562] Deut., ch. xxii., ver. 13-21.
[563] Hovelacque, L’Avesta, p. 396.
[564] Code of Manu, book ix. pp. 5-17.
[565] Code of Manu, v. pp. 147, 148.