The New Exploration Of Relationship Between Christianity And Marriage Transitions In The Early Middle Ages

Marriage is formed in the society and reflects the change of the society at the same time. The stability of marriage is of good importance to social development. In the late antiquities, marriage consists of monogamy which is very loose, people pursue all kinds of interests through marriage. In that case, it is easy to develop and dissolve a marriage at high rates. As Christianity comes into being and develops in the middle ages, loyalty is of vital importance in marriage which is realized in some texts, such as the Bible, comments of church fathers and church decrees so that the society of marriage transmits well. Marriage symbolism promotes the divine communication between people and the God, it also helps social psychology to perceive marriage attribute. In the context of Christianity, property and inheritance lay the material basis for marriage symbolism expression. The sanctity of marriage is carried out more stringent than ever after the church has taken marriage into his judicial jurisdiction. Eventually the society of marriage is formed under the guidance of Christianity. In general, medieval society is operated in a good order and modern marriage mode is conceived with marriage as a link.The paper is divided into five parts.In the first part, transformations of marriage through the whole human beings and the early middle ages are expounded briefly.In the second part, loose monogamy of the Roman Empire in late antiquities and Germanic marriage are explained.In the third part, the provisions of early Christian marriage are explained, such as the Bible, instructions of St. Paul and different attitudes of church fathers which are represented by St. Augustine and St. Jerome.In the fourth part, the important role of marriage symbolism is firstly interpreted which is followed by the material basis provided by ways of property and inheritance of Christian. As a result, church laws help to form marriage society.In the last part, the significance of smooth transition of marriage society is analysed from a vertical and horizontal angle. In the long term, Christian gives birth to companionate marriage and does good to the development of medieval families and society.