A History of Matrimonial Institutions, Vol. 2 of 3

The work surveys competing theories of primitive matrimonial origin—patriarchal, horde and mother-right, and original pairing—and critiques them with reference to anthropological and legal research. It then traces the emergence of marriage contracts, including wife-capture, purchase, and free self-betrothal, and follows the church's adoption and regulation of marriage through canon law, Protestant reform, and the rise of civil marriage. A transatlantic section examines colonial and state practices in England and the United States, detailing the evolution of divorce, solemnization, and statutory regulation, and concludes by discussing legislation, education, and unresolved problems of marriage and the family.