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Title: The Development of the Family and Marriage in Europe (Studies in Literacy, Family, Culture, & the State) by Jack Goody ISBN: 0-521-28925-4 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 01 July, 1983 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $37.00

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Average Customer Rating: 4 (1 review)

Rating: 4
Summary: A real eye-opener!
Comment: Why did Europe in particular develop the prohibitions against marry close kin that are still with us today? Why are a deceased spouse's siblings, the spouses of deceased siblings, various degrees of cousins, and god-children forbidden from being considered eligible marriage partners? The ancient Israelites, Greeks, and Romans had no such prohibitions. The Germanic peoples who settled northern Europe after the Roman Empire fell in the West did not carry these taboos with them. Where did they come from?

This book argues that Fourth Century Christianity invented these marriage prohibitions which had previously not existed in either Biblical or Roman civil law traditions. The effect, if not the actual purpose, of these prohibitions was to limit the number of inheritance strategies available to property owners. By narrowing the options for trans-generational wealth transfers (including the virtual disappearance of civil adoption), the developing Church became the beneficiary of an increasingly large number of heirless people.

The wealth of the Church expanded to such a point that the lay authorities had to legislate against various accumulation strategies used by the Church - culminating ultimately with the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII.

The premise is a fascinating one and does a reasonable job of explaining why we have the marriage prohibitions which are with us today. The first few chapters are a bit of a tough read as they set the anthropological ground work of the study. However, the subsequent chapters are a historians delight. Truly an innovative work.

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