Continuing from my previous post, I want to understand the practice of marriage in our age. To get a more informed idea, I want to understand the history of it better. Collecting and comparing some history might help adding value to the practice today. Here we go:
Google search: the history of marriage
Moonstruck partners pledging eternal love may be the current definition of marriage, but this starry-eyed picture has relatively modern origins.
Though marriage has ancient roots, until recently love had little to do with it.
"What marriage had in common was that it really was not about the relationship between the man and the woman," said Stephanie Coontz, the author of "Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage," (Penguin Books, 2006). "It was a way of getting in-laws, of making alliances and expanding the family labor force."
http://www.livescience.com/37777-history-of-marriage.html
Here’s Why The Idea Of ‘Traditional Marriage’ Is Total Bullsh*t
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/20/historical-marriage-definitions_n_4589763.html
I get a little sick when I think of the value people place on flashy engagemet rings, especially diamond rings. I think I would go for an opal. But we cannot choose what we get gifted with.
There is no mention of betrothal or marriage rings in this or any other edition of the bible. 1477: In one of the first recorded uses of a diamond engagement ring, Archduke Maximilian of Austria proposes to Mary of Burgundy with a ring that is set with thin, flat pieces of diamonds in the shape of an “M.”
http://www.rd.com/advice/relationships/the-history-of-engagement-rings/
Anthropologists believe this tradition originated from a Roman custom in which wives wore rings attached to small keys, indicating their husbands' ownership. In 1477, Archduke Maximillian of Austria commissioned the very first diamond engagement ring on record for his betrothed, Mary of Burgundy.
https://www.americangemsociety.org/the-history-of-the-diamond-as-an-engagement-ring
How an Ad Campaign Invented the Diamond Engagement RingIn the 1930s, few Americans proposed with the precious stone. Then everything changed.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/02/how-an-ad-campaign-invented-the-diamond-engagement-ring/385376/
My father has told me time and again that once you marry someone, you will spend the rest of your life with them (uhm, duh) But he reminds me that modern medicine has developed so much that most of us will probably live to be around 100 years old. If you get married at the age of 20, you’ll have given 80 years of your life to someone. Depending on how much of a romantic you are, this thought might not sit so well with everyone. I am lucky enough to feel as though I can call my partner my best friend. We all intend to have our best friends in our lives forever anyway, right?
Wow, my mind is racing into so many directions. I believe that people get married so that they can start a family together. But! Factors: Same sex marriages. But mostly; Over population. People don’t all NEED to have children anymore to keep the human population growing, healthy and strong. There are too many people on the planet. People can stop procreating. Does that mean that they can stop getting married? What then of their so-called human instincts and natural drives? (I think people should learn to keep it in their pants) I’m confusing myself. Should some people decide to be sterilized? Should there be a system to decide who? I am veering waay off topic! I’ll keep thinking and researching the matter. I bet I’ll have a different opinion if I get married.
Google search: the history of marriage
Moonstruck partners pledging eternal love may be the current definition of marriage, but this starry-eyed picture has relatively modern origins.
Though marriage has ancient roots, until recently love had little to do with it.
"What marriage had in common was that it really was not about the relationship between the man and the woman," said Stephanie Coontz, the author of "Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage," (Penguin Books, 2006). "It was a way of getting in-laws, of making alliances and expanding the family labor force."
http://www.livescience.com/37777-history-of-marriage.html
Here’s Why The Idea Of ‘Traditional Marriage’ Is Total Bullsh*t
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/20/historical-marriage-definitions_n_4589763.html
I get a little sick when I think of the value people place on flashy engagemet rings, especially diamond rings. I think I would go for an opal. But we cannot choose what we get gifted with.
There is no mention of betrothal or marriage rings in this or any other edition of the bible. 1477: In one of the first recorded uses of a diamond engagement ring, Archduke Maximilian of Austria proposes to Mary of Burgundy with a ring that is set with thin, flat pieces of diamonds in the shape of an “M.”
http://www.rd.com/advice/relationships/the-history-of-engagement-rings/
Anthropologists believe this tradition originated from a Roman custom in which wives wore rings attached to small keys, indicating their husbands' ownership. In 1477, Archduke Maximillian of Austria commissioned the very first diamond engagement ring on record for his betrothed, Mary of Burgundy.
https://www.americangemsociety.org/the-history-of-the-diamond-as-an-engagement-ring
How an Ad Campaign Invented the Diamond Engagement RingIn the 1930s, few Americans proposed with the precious stone. Then everything changed.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/02/how-an-ad-campaign-invented-the-diamond-engagement-ring/385376/
My father has told me time and again that once you marry someone, you will spend the rest of your life with them (uhm, duh) But he reminds me that modern medicine has developed so much that most of us will probably live to be around 100 years old. If you get married at the age of 20, you’ll have given 80 years of your life to someone. Depending on how much of a romantic you are, this thought might not sit so well with everyone. I am lucky enough to feel as though I can call my partner my best friend. We all intend to have our best friends in our lives forever anyway, right?
Wow, my mind is racing into so many directions. I believe that people get married so that they can start a family together. But! Factors: Same sex marriages. But mostly; Over population. People don’t all NEED to have children anymore to keep the human population growing, healthy and strong. There are too many people on the planet. People can stop procreating. Does that mean that they can stop getting married? What then of their so-called human instincts and natural drives? (I think people should learn to keep it in their pants) I’m confusing myself. Should some people decide to be sterilized? Should there be a system to decide who? I am veering waay off topic! I’ll keep thinking and researching the matter. I bet I’ll have a different opinion if I get married.