"Marriage consume": as it was in ancient times and the significance of this fact

As you know, marriage - this is a certain way formalized the relationship between a man and a woman. It can be both legal registration in the REGISTRY OFFICE, and the civil union, that too is recognized by the modern legislation.

Traditions of recognizing the fact of marriage in antiquity

Probably very few people heard the expression "marriage consume" What does this mean in the tradition of many ancient peoples? In past centuries, according to historians, the role of the first wedding night between a woman and a man was important. Why? Because the term "consummation" from the Latin language is translated as "completion". By this moment, the first sexual intercourse between husband and wife was usually meant.

What does it mean to consummate a marriage?

The process of marriage was divided into several different stages. In aristocratic circles, wedding unions were held between minors. Of course, we do not say this about some vulgarity of people in this circle, because even with the conclusion of such marriage, there was no talk about sexual relations between minors. It was believed that such unions would guarantee the strengthening of the political or economic influence of the families of the brachy in certain territories.

According to tradition and legislation, the first sexual relations officially could take place only after the coming of age of both spouses. The fact of sexual intercourse should have been fixed.

The complexity of this point was that few people like to demonstrate intimate relationships in public. The couple knew that tomorrow their marriage was being summed up, so they had to be prepared for this sacred moment morally. The process of fixation went like this. Usually there were witnesses near the bed, who actually observed this action. In the eastern tradition, a sacred rite with candles and guards was organized, which closed the windows of the room, fighting the forces of "evil." The spiritual essence of the rite was that before that the husband and wife were in the status of the family only before the state, the law, and now their status is approved by the god, because they finally physically unite in one. In ancient Greece, there was not necessarily the presence of witnesses during the time that the marriage is consummated. Newlyweds on the morning after the wedding night just showed those who fixed the consummation, bloodstained sheets. It was the fact of the presence of blood on the sheets and said that the nevon last night was deprived of virginity by her husband.

The value of marriage consummation for the family

For the fortress of family relationships, the physical side of marriage relations is of the greatest importance. The first wedding night, the union of the husband and wife into one whole is an event that gives hope that the marriage will be lasting and strong. The family's task is that the spouses must live a long and happy family life, while bringing up worthy children. A weak family will not be able to fulfill such a social mission, so the lack of regular sexual relations between husband and wife even now in many countries is considered an important reason for divorce. There is an opinion that there is no spiritual unity in such a family, this means that this social unit is not capable, that is, it can not reach the most important and qualitative social result in the form of bringing up really worthy and morally strong children.

Conclusion

So, we in this article have considered the historical retrospective and the meaning of the concept of "marriage consume." Many readers probably did not even hear such a phrase. We have understood what is meant by a consummated marriage. Such an alliance is the marriage of a married couple, between whose members have already had sexual intercourse.