Renaissance

Near the beginning of the Renaissance Jan van Eyck painted his piece Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride. It is the witnessing of a marriage. From this one small painting we can learn a few things about was was important in a marriage during this times. The fact that there is even a painting portraying the even is significant in that fact that it was important enough to document. This shows that marriage was an important and special event in society in this time. This is also shown by the sandals in the painting which symbolizes a sacred event. Also at the bottom of the painting there is a dog which is a symbol of fidelity and domestic peace. This shows that a husband and wife were expected to be faithful in a marriage and have a peaceful marriage.

Fourteenth Century

Moving into the fourteenth century there is still a heavy influence of the church in all aspects of art and life. While we see still more religion based artwork the exact subjects of the artwork change slightly. In Martini's The Annunciation the subject of the painting is the Virgin Mary. The back ground of the painting is done in gold as well as the hemming of her dress being done in gold. Using such precious materials gives more importance to this painting. during this period the Virgin Mary's role in the church was becoming even more prominent. This transfered into higher regard for women in general during this time even though women still didn't have many rights. Women still weren't considered as equals in marriage during this period but they were thought of more highly than in the earlier medieval centuries.

Gothic

As we move into the Gothic period we still see a lack of mention of marriage in work. There's a lack of even seeing women in artwork from this time. A good example is the Prophets of the Old Testament jamb figures at Chartres Cathedral. Some of the most important prophets of the Old Testament including Melchizedek, Abraham with Isaac, Moses, Samuel, and David. This shows the very patriarchal nature of the Church. This in turn carried into home life and family relationships were very patriarchal. This translated into marriage relationships being dominated by men and the women not being seen as equals. Wives were still seen as inferior and not as important.

Romanesque

During the Romanesque period there was a lack of any works having to deal with marriage. This shows that even though marriage still happened during this period the marriage relationship wasn't an important aspect of life. There was still a carry over from the Early Medieval period when women were seen more as property to be traded in marriage. In the Bayeux Tapestry there is a short part at the beginning of the story in which William offers Harold his daughter in marriage to avoid possible deception. Once again this shows women as property to be traded to help promote peace. Women were not seen as equals in marriage. They were inferior to their husbands and didn't have as many rights as men.

Early Medieval

One of the most famous works from the Early Medieval period is the story of Beowulf. In this story marriage is mentioned as a way of bringing peace between two warring tribes. In this story Beowulf is skeptical of the validity of the use of this tradition. He is validated in his belief when a bride that has been married off runs off to return to her kinsmen. This shows that men and women were not seen as equals in marriage. Men were seen as more important and and superior to their wives. Women were seen more as commodities to be traded to help promote peace, and not as individuals to make their own decisions in who they would marry.

Islam

One of the huge contributions of the Islamic period is the Qur'an to the Muslim religion. The Qur'an covers many of the values that are important to Muslims. These are values that they believe were divine revelation from God through the Prophet Muhammad. In the Qur'an there are many verses that discuss marriage and guidelines for marriage. It is mentioned many times in the Qur'an that the most important thing when finding a spouse is making sure to marry a righteous believer. They also have rules against incest or women that are already married. It also encourages the marriage of single people to help discourage immorality. All the guidelines on marriage shows that marriage was an important part of Islamic life and that everyone was expected to get married under the right circumstances.

Byzantine

During the Byzantine era mosaics in church were very popular. This holds true for the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. In the apse of the church there on mosaics on the north and south wall. On the north wall is a mosaic of the Emperor Justinian and his courtiers and on the south wall is Empress Theodora and retinue. This shows that at least in royal marriage that husband and wife were seen as more equal. They both have their own mosaic on opposing walls and both of the mosaics are relatively the same size. This also shows that the church was a big part of marriage and life during this time since these mosaics are in one of the major churches built during this time.