How did marriage patterns change in the late middle ages?

Answer 1

The patterns change becuase more men and women have to marry when they are older. As couples waited for economic security before marrying, both men and women tended to be of an older age at marriage. The late marrying age of males may have contributed to widespread prostitution, which was often regulated. Rape was a fairly common crime and received a relatively light punishment. The Church became more vocal in condemning homosexuality, suggesting that it may have become more common

Answer 2

Courtship and marriage were very different in the Middle Ages, and what they were depended very much on what the social status of a person was.

For people of wealth and power, marriage was often a matter of a negotiation with the intent of creating family connections and making families more powerful or more wealthy. For members of the royal families, diplomatic considerations were very important. People often met their future spouses after the marriage had been arranged. People were sometimes betrothed and married at very young ages.

Among ordinary people, courtship was based on mutual attraction, very much as it is today. Young men and women got together at social events, where there was music and dancing, or any time they could, and spent their time together. They did not marry young, because they wanted to prepare for family life before they started it. Young women saved money and household goods, and young men tried to show they could support their wives. The average age of marriage seems to have been in the mid twenties, until after the Black Death, when people married younger.

The marriage itself was very different than it is today. For most people, it was simply a matter of a couple beginning to live together, which was only done with a declaration that they were married. There was no church ceremony for most of the people of the Middle Ages, though there could be a party. The requirement of a church marriage was instituted after the Middle Ages ended, though couples often registered their marriages at the local church.

Of course, once together, couples were not allowed to separate - for most people, divorce was not possible. It was not easy, even for royalty.