From bestselling historians Frances and Joseph Gies, authors of the classic "Medieval Life" series, comes this compelling, lucid, and highly readable account of the family unit as it evolved throughout the Medieval period--reissued for the first time in decades. "Some particular books that I found useful for Game of Thrones and its sequels deserve mention. Life in a Medieval Castle and Life in a Medieval City, both by Joseph and Frances Gies." --George R. R. Martin, author of Game of Thrones Throughout history, the significance of the family--the basic social unit--has been vital. In Marriage and the Family in the Middle Ages, acclaimed historians Frances and Joseph Gies trace the development of marriage and the family from the medieval era to early modern times. It describes how the Roman and barbarian cultural streams merged under the influence of the Christian church to forge new concepts, customs, laws, and practices. Century by century, the Gies follow the development--sometimes gradual, at other times revolutionary--of significant components in the history of the family including: The basic functions of the family as a production unit, as well as its religious, social, judicial, and educational roles. The shift of marriage from private arrangement between families to public ceremony between individuals, and the adjustments in dowry, bride-price, and counter-dowry. The development of consanguinity rules and incest taboos in church law and lay custom. The peasant family in its varying condition of being free or unfree, poor, middling, or rich. The aristocratic estate, the problem of the younger son, and the disinheritance of daughters. The Black Death and its long-term effects on the family. Sex attitudes and customs: the effects of variations in age of men and women at marriage. The changing physical environment of noble, peasant, and urban families. Arrangements by families for old age and retirement. Expertly researched, master historians Frances and Joseph Gies--whose books were used by George R.R. Martin in his research for Game of Thrones--paint a compelling, detailed portrait of family life and social customs in one of the most riveting eras in history.

The author argues that the structure of sexual relationships took its cue from the family and feudalism - both bastions of masculinity - as he presents his interpretation of women, what they represented and what they were in the Middle Ages

A collection of essays by Michael Sheehan, whose work and interpretation on medieval property, marriage, family, sexuality, and law has insprired scholars for 40 years.

Lasting marriages are built one defining moment at a time. The moment of blame. The moment of weakness. When your spouse suffers. When dreams disappoint. When the kids leave the nest. It's how we think and behave toward one another in moments like these that determines whether our marriage endures or falters. Ultimately, these are invitations from God to consider our direction and pursue transformation. With 37 years of marriage and 33 years of pastoring under his belt, Dave Harvey has identified those life-defining moments of a post-newlywed marriage. He wants to help couples recognize them in their own relationships so that they can take a proactive, godly approach to resolving conflicts, holding one another up as change inevitably happens, and ensuring that their marriage survives and thrives. Whether your relationship is maturing gracefully, just needs a tune-up, or you and your spouse are locked in conflict and your future seems uncertain, Dave Harvey has encouragement and practical tools to help strengthen what remains and build a rock-solid union for the days to come.

"A great virtue of this reader is the length of its selections--not just snippets, but long enough portions for students to get a real sense of how the text works." - Ruth Mazo Karras, University of Minnesota

Midlife is a season of challenge and change—professionally, relationally, physically, and spiritually. But "midlife" doesn't have to be synonymous with "crisis" within our marriages. With vulnerability and insight, this book will inspire and encourage you to invest in your relationship with your spouse, enabling you both to thrive as you face this era together.

Four years of research by Jim and Sally Conway yielded ten traits essential for a healthy, intimate marriage. The Conways' explanation of the marriage situation at mid-life will reassure readers that their feelings may be normal.

By the end of World War I, the skyrocketing divorce rate in the United States had generated a deep-seated anxiety about marriage. This fear drove middle-class couples to seek advice, both professional and popular, in order to strengthen their relationships. In Making Marriage Work, historian Kristin Celello offers an insightful and wide-ranging account of marriage and divorce in America in the twentieth century, focusing on the development of the idea of marriage as "work." Throughout, Celello illuminates the interaction of marriage and divorce over the century and reveals how the idea that marriage requires work became part of Americans' collective consciousness.

A survey of attitudes to marriage as represented in medieval legal and literary texts. Medieval marriage has been widely discussed, and this book gives a brief and accessible overview of an important subject. It covers the entire medieval period, and engages with a wide range of primary sources, both legal and literary. It draws particular attention to local English legislation and practice, and offers some new readings of medieval English literary texts, including Beowulf, the works of Chaucer, Langland's Piers Plowman, the Book of Margery Kempe and the Paston Letters. Focusing on a number of key themes important across the period, individual chapters discuss the themes of consent, property, alliance, love, sex, family, divorce and widowhood. CONOR MCCARTHY gained his PhD from Trinity College Dublin.