Forum libero

An Encyclopedia of Religion:

•Talmudic law fixed the legal age for contracting marriage at puberty. •The prevailing marriageable age for girls in Europe during the Renaissance was twelve years. • Furthermore, marriages were often celebrated among Europeans until well into the 17th century between persons who had not yet achieved puberty, as was also true in India until very recent times




Biblical Marriages
•Solomon and Rehoboam (refer to 1 Kings 11 and 14 for further reference)
•Mary, the Mother of Jesus
Like other women of her day, Mary would have been married around the age of twelve, the onset of puberty. The marriage would have been arranged by her parents, normally to an older man. A year or so after betrothal, they would have been married. - Dr. Helen K Bond


Encyclopedia Britannica on English Common Law:

•Historically, the attitude of the English common law was that a person under 7 yrs lacked the mental ability to consent to marriage, and that between 7 yrs and puberty there could be consent but not a consummated marriage. •At common law, therefore, the marriage of a person between the ages of 7 and 12 or 14 was "inchoate" and would become "choate" on reaching puberty, if no objection was raised.

Christian Marital Doctrine
•The Church set the age for marriage at puberty, when girls reached the age of twelve and boys, the age of fourteen. •Children could be betrothed at seven years of age, although this would not be binding for another five to seven years.







Church Doctrine cont’d
•If any marriage took place before the age of seven, the partners, not the parents, (although it would be a difficult task to separate one from the other) had to confirm their consent when they reached maturity. •The lay authorities accepted the Church's doctrine on marriage, but betrothals and marriages did occasionally take place before the parties were seven years old. Ward, English Noblewomen in the Later Middle Ages



Consent in Marriage - Christianity
•In Christian law, not until 1140 was the consent of a woman of any importance in regards to the marriage contract


Consent in Marriage - Islam
•The Messenger of God said,
•"A matron should not be given in marriage except after consulting her; and a virgin should not be given in marriage except after her permission- Bukhari
http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:auKkFTq5QQUJ:...