Marriage in Medieval Times
Marriage: a union of two loved ones. In medieval ages women did not have a choice about who to marry. The arrangement was done by the children’s parents, in those ages children were married at a young age girls were as young as 12 and boys were as young as 17. Medieval society’s expectation of marriage was quite different from the expectations of marriage now days.
Men were sometimes able to choose their wives. Marriage back then was not based on love, but actually a political arrangement.
Amt, Emilie. Life in a Medieval Village. 5 November 2013 <educators.medievaltimes.com>.

There were a lot of reasons why marriage could be prohibited as opposed to today; one of the reasons was if the two were closely related it was prohibited for them to get married. If the boy and the girl had taken any vows before it was also prohibited for them to be married. Other reasons included rape, adultery and incest.
Carter, Rachelle. Marriage in medieval times. 5 11 2013 <http://www.dfwx.com/medieval_cult.html>.

In those times there were two types of marriages: Secular and the ecclesiastical type. Secular was meant to be a protection for the social order. Ecclesiastical marriage was to protection the divine order. Secular marriage was most common during the middle ages, because marriage was seen as a civil contract between to families. It was seen as an exchange of property and money. Women were seen as part of the property being exchanged. Petry, Simon “Marriage in the “Marriage Group Tales” of The Canterbury Tales.” 2004.
Another purpose for marriage in the middle ages was for the women to produce Heirs for their husbands. The husband wanted to ensure that the child given to him was actually his that is why virginity was highly valued in medieval times.
Madeline. Sex and Marriage in the Mid to Late Medieval Times. 13 March 2008. 31 October 2013.