Name:____________________________ Date:____________________________
Read pages 172-178 and complete the graphic organizer below.
Historical Era Key points:
Ancient Hebrew
Marriage
 4000 years ago
 Arranged between patriarchal families for producing sons to be heirs
 Betrothal (promise to marry) was agreed upon when a girl and a boy were young
 Children’s wishes were probably considered
 Bride Price was given to the bride’s family to compensate for the loss of the girl’s contribution in the family and her value as a potential mother
 Dowry is given to the bride by the bride’s family (money, land, household items) in order for her to establish a home.
 Dower rights (obtain husband’s property in case of divorce)
 Marriage contract (obligations of husband and wife)
 Divorce could happen if woman could not bear sons
 Affectionate
 Marriage was designed to ensure that children would be born and to ensure the support of the family after death of husband or wife
 Sororate obligation (sister had to take over the wife’s role in case of death)
 Levirate obligation (brother had to take over the
husband’s role in case of death)
 Marriage = Economic arrangement to bear sons.

Name:____________________________
Ancient Rome
Marriage
Date:____________________________
100 BCE
 Patriarchal and patrilocal (located near the husband’s family)
 Monogamous
100CE
 Family changed: Less patriarchal and more egalitarian because men went to war and women had to take on more responsibilities and roles
 Marriage became an opportunity to attain riches and political advantage
 Divorce could be initiated by men and women – lead to a disorganization and instability in the family
 Common to marry several times
Middle Ages
Marriage
900 – 1300 C.E.
 Marriage was informal, loosely organized and casually enforced
 Feudal system (private ownership of land) changed this loosely organization because now land could be inherited.
Therefore, they needed regulations of marriage and legitimacy of children.
 Christian Church began to regulate marriage in the
12 th century (sacrament; witnesses; public record)
 Ages: 14 groom 12 bride
 Banns (marriage announcement 3 weeks before the wedding) – used to ensure that groom and bride were entering the marriage willingly.
 priest’s question as to whether anyone objects the marriage

Name:____________________________
Marriage and the Protestant
Reformation
Date:____________________________
Renaissance
 liberalized grounds for divorce
 loosened restrictions on consanguinity
 idealized the importance of marriage and family life over chastity
 nuclear family became normative (replacing larger families)
 more free-choice marriages (romantic love) but still seen as economic necessities
First Nations
Marriage
European
Contact
 matrilineal and matrilocal
 F. N. women had more status than European women
 Marriages occurred after a child was born
 Marriage expected to be long lasting
 Clear gender roles that were valued
 Became patrilineal as a result of European colonization
 Patriarchal and patrilineal (brought to Canada by British and French colonists)
 European women were in short supply, so they turned to F.
N. women  Marriage a la facon du pays– Europeans married F. N. women (temporarily)
 Hudson’s Bay company introduced contracts to ensure that men has a legal obligation to his wife and kids if he returns to Europe
 Filles du Roi – French women came to Canada to marry the men  to increase population
 Racism began (F. N. women seen as prostitutes)
 Age of a first marriage: 20 women 28men

Name:____________________________
19 th Century
Date:____________________________
 More free-choice marriages
 Socialization (dating) happened at home, under parents’ supervision
 Popular time to get marriage: after harvest and planting
 Age 26men 23 women
 Divorce was rare – marriage was seen as a sacrament
 Divorce was illegal until the 1930s (Ontario) and 1968
(Quebec) – but adultery granted you a divorce
 Divorce Act of 1968 – divorce was allowed for irreconcilable differences after a separation of 3 years
20 th Century  Age: 28 men; 25 women (postponed marriage because of
Economic hardships – depression 1930s)
 Increase in immigration – different marriages and rituals are brought to Canada.