Anglo Saxon England Circa 1000AD

Anglo Saxon England circa 1000AD

Women vs. Men’s Rights in Society

(Marriage Law: an overview)

By Mairghead inghean Pharlian

Although the church would eventually take over the marriage arrangements, most authorities left the matter of the ceremonies to local custom. Some would make their way to the church steps for a blessing from a priest, while most would just consist of vows and toasts celebrated with the village.

Some records exist with the content of such bonding ceremonies. These report Anglo Saxon secular unions could be separated and divorced when necessary; as in marital infidelity, without legal complications. Practical matters such as property and care of the children were the main concern. One record of Anglo Saxon law claims that a woman could leave her husband; and if she took responsibility for the care of the children she was entitled to half of the husband’s property and wealth.

Through the involvement of the church secular rules regarding marriage started to change reflecting Christian ethical standards. Men’s rights started outweighing the women’s as the church officials and kings began to push their moral code into the legal equation. The 53rd law of Canute reads “ If a woman during her husband’s life commits adultery with another man, her legal husband is to have all her property and she is to lose her nose and her ears.” Although no evidence exists that this law was ever put into practice, it should be noted that no similar penalty exists for the male adulterer. The influence of Scandinavian laws from the Dane Law and certain kings (such as Canute) would affect the common law in the united England to come after the 11th century. The wife could divorce for the same adultery situation in pre-Christian Scandinavia. She would receive everything accumulated in the marriage including property and the children. The husband would also have to repay the dowry paid to him for the marriage back to the wife’s family.

Marriage law in England, as with other countries of the time, was all about the allocation of property. Marital unions were negotiated just as contracts. The money, as in a dowry, was the usually the deciding factor. The morgengiftu or morning gift was paid by the husband and could consist of money and property. The new wife would receive her morning gift after “satisfactory completion of the wedding night”. Husbands usually expected their brides to be virgins. The morning gift gave the women some incentive to remain virgins until they married. Legally virginity wasn’t a requirement for marriage but it was a good selling factor. Anglo Saxon lawmakers didn’t get involved “policing” virgins as it were. If the husband didn’t find a problem with his wife on the wedding night it was no concern for the law. However, laws at the time under King Aethelbert said that if the wife deceived her husband the morning gift was to be repaid. A common example would be if a woman came into the marriage pregnant by another man, but passed the child off as her prospective husband’s.

Most records suggest equality between the sexes in Anglo Saxon society especially when involved with property. Wills for some women exist from this period. These wills contain records of land titles and the same rights as men in bequeathment of property.

Bibliography

-(Canute Law 53) English Historical Documents, Whitelock