THE INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE AND THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY MEDIEVAL LEGISLATION
THE INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE AND THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY MEDIEVAL LEGISLATION

Summary/Abstract: The institution of marriage in the 17th century, more precisely its legal definition, determines the woman’s status. In a century when the sources reflect a mainly male world, the girl has no other alternative than marriage or convent, regardless of her social status. Marriage is full of consequences for women: it places them under the domination of the husband; it gives them his identity and social rank, and in many regards, transforms their lives.Romanian laws have made marriage into a contract, concluded and dissolved by the authority of the church in a public way, in a precise ceremony. Prejudices, traditions and laws give women inferior roles, in all the social ranks. Regarding the everyday life, the household i.e. the intimate area where men can retire, compose themselves, relax by giving up the shell protecting them in the outside world, is the place where men’s power clashes with women’s power.

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