A study of matrimonial institutions in England during the middle ages : background to an understanding of Chaucerian marriage references

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales present to the modern reader a bewildering complexity of medieval life without explanation. He wrote for an audience which was certain to understand each detail. They and he shared a common knowledge of which the modern reader may only hope to acquire a small part. The present paper seeks to examine the social and legal institutions of marriage in the world of Chancer. Since the Tales abound with references to marriage, its celebration, its implication#, its Joys and its problems, a frame of reference within which these may be placed is helpful. It is hoped that snob a frame of reference is hero provided. The study is presented in a five-fold arrangement as fellows: The Position of Women, The Property Rights of Women, Marriage Perms, Marriage Feasts and Divorce and Child Marriage.