The Marriage Debate.

... The Marriage Debate. This includes stories about the conflict between men and women in marriage; the propriety or otherwise of marrying more than once; whether the old ought to marry the young; and the sin or otherwise of adultery. A medieval marriage was often illustrated by a man and woman each pulling at a pair of trousers. As nearly all marriages were arranged for economic reasons; very few married for love. Furthermore, the absence of husbands on crusade (a kind of on-going Gulf War), or in the Hundred Years' war with France, led to an eager rivalry between landless young aristocrats (squires) for the 'favour' of attractive young wives, wealthy widows, or spinster heiresses, left in command of castles and manors. In order to bring order to the stampede, a complex system of codes of behaviour came into existence by which the aspring young man had to prove his ardour by

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