About Michael Troy Expertise My specialties are 17th through 19th Century history, especially in the Americas and Europe. I also have a fair knowledge of ancient Greek and Roman History, and some knowledge of Medieval European history.
My expertise is focuses on Military and political history, but I`ll take a crack at anything.
Experience I have been a guest lecturer at George Washington University. Mostly, I have just read hundreds of books about world history.
Education/Credentials J.D. Univ. of Michigan
B.A. George Washington University
Question What is the history of civil marriage? Of government issued maiirage licenses? What purpose do government issued maiirage licenses serve?
Answer Hi Bill,
Until relatively recently, marriage was not something in which the Church or State involved themselves.
Many early societies formed relationships by the man simply capturing and detaining the woman. In many early civilizations, a man would buy or barter a daughter from her father. Once that deal was concluded, the couple were considered "married" with no further action or ceremony.
While many ancient goverments recognized the existence of marriages, they did little to determine what constituted a marriage. If a man claimed a woman as his wife, and the wife's family did not dispute the claim, that was enough. At that point, the wife became the property and legal responsibility of the husband rather than her father.
Beyond vague protections of wives as property, government had almost nothing to do with marriage.
In the sixth century AD, the Justinian code placed some limits on who could marry. A girl could not be betrothed before she was seven years old and could not marry until she was 12. Close relatives could not marry. Christians and Jews could not inter-marry. Senators could not marry commoners.
The other issue that really mattered to government was legitimacy of children for purposes of inheritence. But this only really mattered to the propertied classes and those marriages were recognized without any necessary ceremony or record.
The Church got involved in marriages in the ninth Century. It began simply by blessing unions that had been declared but quickly became a necessary part of the marriage process.
Governments at the time were intertwined with the Church so government simply recognized the Church's authority in this area and did not attempt to interfere.
When Oliver Cromwell took over England in the mid-1600's, he banned religious marriages and tried to institute a civil process for marriage. Most people objected to this and the attempt soon fizzled. Civil Marriages did not become possible again in England until 1837.
Civil Marriages became more common in places where government and the Church were at odds. But even where civil marriages existed, they seemed to be very rare.
Marriage licenses are an even newer invention. In the mid-1800's some States allowed inter-racial couples to marry in an exception to anti-misegination statutes. Some states did issue marriage certificates, but these were not required. A general requirement for a license to get married was not common until the early 20th Century.
The purpose of the license or certificate was mostly for legal certainty. Laws regarding inheritence, parental authority, taxes, and other legal matters made one's state of marriage relevant. A marriage certificate from the State made it clear to everyone when the marriage began and that it existed.
Although all states have marriage licenses today, they are not always mandatory. About a dozen States still recognize "common law marriages" where the government considers a couple married if they simply hold themselves out as such.
