MARRIAGE, the union of a man and woman in the legal relation of husband and wife. This in one form or another is the oldest institution of society and the source of its most ancient laws. Society, indeed, could not long exist without some rules being imposed by necessity for the appropriation of men and women to one another, securing them in the enjoyment of one another's society, and defining their obligations to their children. According to the law or practice of the greater part of the civilized world, one man marries one woman at a time. The Mormon heresy on this subject is now being suppressed by force. But this familiar system of monogamy is a comparatively recent development of marriage. A great diversity of opinion exists as to the particular fonn af primitive marria:ge. It is conceivable that there may have been many forms. Poly gynia and polyandna—one man with many wives, one wife with many husbands; these have certainly existed. By the most recent writer on the subject (Morgan, Systeme of Consanguinity and Affinity, 1871; and Ancient Society, 1877) it is asserted that intercourse was originally promiscuous. This negation of marriage is vehemently disputed. Morgan also affirms a primitive custom of intermarriage between brothers and sisters; the con sanguine faintly of the Malay civilization; and a custom of intermarriage of several sisters with each other's husbands, and of several brothers with each other's wives. This custom is said to result in the formation of a gens, governed in its marriage relations by the principle of exogamy—viz., selection of wives outside the gens. After t-his comes the marriage of single pairs with or without exclusive habitation. The patriarchal family was largely monogamous; and true monogamy does not appear before the rise of private property, lineal succession, and slavery. (See on this subject, McLennan, Primitive _Marriage, 2d ed. ,• Tylor, Early Ilistory of Mankind; Lubbock's Origin of Civilization ; Bachofen, Das .Matterrecht.) The primitive Ceremonies of marriage are of immense number, and some of striking beauty. Those whieh have left the most distinct survival& in modern custom are sale and capture. As regards Christian Europe, in 1085 IIIIde-.
brand declared marriage to be a sacrament of the church; and at the reformation Calvin -declared it to be au institution of God. The school of Grotius described it as a contract of partnership. Throughout Christendom marriage is generally accompanied by a religions ceremony. In the eye of the law, even where the intervention of a priest is on public grounds declared essential, marriage is a contract, but differs from other contracts because its incidents are fixed by public law, and because it 'affects the status of the con tracting parties. The varieties of marriage as a modern leo-al institution are well sum marized in Bergson's introduction to Concordance entre les Cobdes arils (Paris, 1856). We can describe only the modes of constituting marriage in use in England, Scotland, and Ireland. For rights connected with the dissolution of niarriage, see DIVOIICE. For the effects of marriage on property, see III:NBA-lin AND WrEE.
insure deliberation and to preserve indisputable evidence of so impor tant a fact, the Engiish law makes certain forms essential to marriage. A breach of the contract to marry gives rise to an action of damages (though this remedy is being grad ually condemned by public opinion); but marriage itself will not be set aside and treated -as nuli merely beutise either party procured it by fraudulent representations. Marriage cannot be rescinded by either party or both at pleasure, though that effect is brought about in another way by certain kinds of misconduct, whether studied or not, of either party. See DIVORCE, Jul:num. SEPARATION. Another circumstance in which marriage eliffers from other contracts is, that it cannot be entered into in a moment, but certain pre litninary notices must be given, and forms gone through. From the year 1753 (the date of lord Rardwicke's act, 26 Geo. II. c. 33) to 1836 (the date of lord "Russell's act, 0 and 7 Will. IV. c. 85, which first authorized marriages in rewistered building and before a reg istrar), the power of solemnizing lawful inarriages, wan the parties were neither Quakers nor Jews, was conferred by the legislature on the clergy of the established church only. Since the latter date persons have the option of two forms of contracting marriage: it may be with or without a religious ceremony; and if with a relirrious ceremony, it may be either in the established church or in a dissenting chapel. Iethe marriage is to take
place in an established church, there must be publication of bans of marriage for three preceding successive Sunday-s, either after the second lesson or during the communion -office; but a marriage license obtained from the ordinary of the district, or a special license from the archbishop, will dispense with bans; fifteen days' previous residence in the parish by one of the parties being necessary. A registrar's certificate, obtained on 7 days' residence and 21 days' notice, will also dispense with bans, but an established church clergyman is not bound to marry on this. The marriage must take place in the church, the marriage service of the church of England being read over, and this must be done in canonical hours--i.e., between 8 and 12 A.M., in presence of two witnesses. If the marriage is celebrated in a dissenting chapel (and for that purpose such chapel must be duly licensed and registered under lord Russell:s act), a certificate or license must be got after notice from the registrar; and there must be present the registrar of the district as one of the witnesses, except in Quaker and Jewish marriages. If the mar riage is not with any religious ceremony, it must take place in the office of the superin tendent-registrar, aud in presence of witnesses; both parties in the presence of witnesses /here exchanging a declaration that they take each other for man and wife. The canon ical hours must be attended to in all cases. The omission of any of these requisites with the knowledge of the parties, makes a marriage void. It is felony to celebrate a mar riage in a private house, unless by special license from the archbishop. And in all cases the fact of the marriage must be entered in a church, and also in a civil, register; the latter being ultimately filed and kept in Somerset house, London, where a copy of the certificate of registration can be had for a small sum. The guilt of perjury is incurred by making- or signing a false declaration on giving notice to the officer. When one of the parties to a marriage celebrated under the act 6 and 7 Will. IV. c. 85, resides in Scot land or Ireland, a certificate by the session-clerk in Scotland of due proclamation of bans there, or a.certificate from an Irish registrar, is equivalent to a certificate by an English district registrar. In the case of the marriage of au infant—i.e., a person undei 21 years of age--evidence of the consent of parents or guardians has to be produced to the registrar or other officer. If one of the parties applying for license or bans fraudu lently represent that such consent has been obtained, he or she forfeits all benefit arising from the property of the infant; which will be ordered by the court of chancery to be settled on the innocent party, or, if both parties concurred in the fraud, on the children of the marriage. The absence of consent of parents or guardians, however, does not make a marriage null. It may sometimes happen that persons go through the form of marriage, and yet are not married; as where one of the parties is already married, the spouse being alive. In such case it is quite immaterial whether the party so remarrying is really ignorant that his or her spouse is alive, provided such is the fact; for though, after seven years, if nothing has been heard of one of two married parties, the other will escape the penalties of birramy on marrying again, yet it depends entirely on whether the first spouse is really dead at the time. whether the second marriage is valid. Other instances where the marriao-e is void, though the ceremony is complete, are where the persons are related to each oilier within the forbidden degrees of consanguinity and affinity; wheie either of them is undUr age, or Of unsOund mind, or physically disquali fied. In the last case the nullity must be declared in the divorce court. As regards .members of the royal family (except the issue of princesses married into foreign fami lies), they must 'either get the sovereign's consent, or give 12 month.s' notice to the_privy council, subject to objection from both houses of parliament, in terms of 12 Geo. III. c. 11. Marriage betwixt a divorced party and the adulterer is lawful itrEngland. But no clergyman of the established church can be compelled to marry any person whose pre vious marriage has been dissolved on the ground of adultery.