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Monastic Celibacy, Betrothal, Wed?For Orthodox Medieval Slavs the marital options were few."Sex and Society in the World of Orthodox Slavs" by Eve Levin describes Medieval Eastern Orthodox marriage law and practices.
Review of Sex and Society in the World of the Orthodox Slavs, 900-1700 Eve Levin Cornell University Press, 1989 Marriage in the World of the Orthodox SlavsEve Levin describes Medieval Eastern Orthodox marriage laws and practices in great detail, complete with anecdotes from this time period as well as evidence from historical documents. The marriages of Medieval Slavs differed greatly from modern marriages - and often completely overlooked emotional compatibility in favor of more practical considerations. Interestingly, marriage in Medieval Slavic society was seen as an inferior choice to monastic celibacy. Marriage was understood to be for those weak-willed individuals who could not refrain from the temptation of sex. However, unmarried people were regarded as having a greater risk for sin than those who had taken vows of celibacy or vows of marriage. Therefore, there was great importance placed upon getting non-married people betrothed as soon as law allowed. Even priests not in monasteries were encouraged to marry to avoid the ultimate sin of sex without marriage. Marriage had little or nothing to do with individual romantic interests in Medieval East and Southeastern Europe. The family - and its political and economic gain attained from a proper match - was the first consideration for marriage. Marriage, and the laws surrounding marriage, had much to do with the control of the Orthodox Church. As holdovers from Pagan times, common law marriages were upheld. Later, they were seen as threats to the power of the church alone to legitimize unions, partially due to the pagan rites and practices that accompanied them. However, even when Christian marriage ceremonies were held, Pagan rituals were often practiced as well, much to the disapproval of the church. BetrothalsBetrothals were as legal and as binding as were marriages. They could only be broken with the permission of a high-ranking church official. Because arranged marriages were the norm, certain exceptions to binding betrothals existed. For example, children under seven years of age could not be betrothed to another. Betrothals lasting for more than 4 years could be broken, unless there was good reason (like illness) for the delay of the marriage. Also, circumstances deemed improper, like the groom having slept with his wife-to-be's mother would be a legitimate reason for breaking off a betrothal. The difficulty in breaking betrothals makes unofficial engagements safer for couples planning to marry.
The copyright of the article Monastic Celibacy, Betrothal, Wed? in E European History is owned by Kerry Kubilius. Permission to republish Monastic Celibacy, Betrothal, Wed? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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