A Study Of Marriage Litigation In England,1200-1400

In the 13 th and 15 th centuries,the church marriage law was basically finalized and the church courts formed a complete top-down system.In the middle ages,there were two views of marriage in England.One was the church view of marriage.The other is the secular view of marriage,which holds that young people’s marriage should be negotiated by families to reach a marriage contract.The families of both sides provide material assistance to the new family according to the marriage contract,and the newlyweds also jointly manage their married life based on the contract relationship.The two ideas seem contradictory.In fact,the marriage litigation not only reflects the church’s view of marriage,but also gives consideration to the secular marriage tradition.The collision of two views of marriage leads to frequent marital disputes and different types of marital litigation.Marriage litigation is the church courts,the church of England the court with a top-down system of complete,marriage litigation usually by grassroots courts,the judges more illegal officer for the church workers,lawyers will also participate in the litigation,they will solemn oath before litigation,and in the lawsuit.There is no standardized trial procedure in matrimonial litigation,which can be roughly summarized into three stages: trial session,cross-examination,and sentencing.However,these stages are not necessary procedures in matrimonial litigation,and it is very common for both parties to reach a settlement in the trial session.In this paper,marriage litigation is divided into four types,the largest number of which is the litigation caused by the effectiveness of marriage,can be divided into three categories: the first type of marriage because of the lack of active effective elements never effective;if there are negative reasons for the second kind of marriage that cannot take effect,the marriage shall be annulled and invalid from the beginning according to law,and both parties may remarry;the third type is caused by bigamy.The premise of bigamy is the existence of the first legal and effective marriage.The abandoned "original couple" applies to the court for protection measures to confirm the effectiveness of the first marriage and enforce it.Secondly,in the bigamy litigation involving multiple parties,the law only protects the validity of the marriage contract which came into effect earlier.Third,divorce proceedings include those in which a marriage has beenannulled on legal grounds of invalidity,as well as those in which a separation has been applied for.Finally,there are a small number of complaints filed by others,usually for adultery,incest,etc.,which will be punished by the church courts.The trial of marriage litigation cases is very efficient.The judges are committed to clarifying the validity of the marriage contract and the rights and obligations of the parties,fighting against sexual crimes,and firmly defending the monogamy system.Although the marriage litigation did not realize the complete freedom of marriage,it established the small family model and promoted the development of family economy in England.Marriage litigation has promoted the capital flow in England.Marriage litigation takes into full account the survival of women,and most of the judgments are inclined to maintain the marital relationship.Only when a woman has suffered serious domestic violence will the separation judgment be made.Marriage litigation also plays a role in maintaining social order,strictly prohibiting the marriage of close relatives,incest,adultery and other behaviors.In bigamy cases,marriage litigation balances the interests of all parties to avoid the expansion of conflicts.Throughout the medieval England matrimonial proceedings,although the law is not complete,the program is not tight,but the judges really hit the sex crimes,to reduce the uncertainty of marriage,to help people establish the correct concept of marriage,formed a relatively stable marriage mode,maintaining the order of the marriage and the social order,the construction of marriage and family of Christian world order.