The medieval Christian Church was slow in developing a comprehensive
theology or canon law of marriage, but it did establish certain principles of great
significance in social life. Sexual morality was the same for both sexes, all classes and all
nations. Marriage was monogamous, and close or incestuous marriages were forbidden.
A uniform sexual morality worked to create uniform or commensurable household units.
The requirement of monogamy and the incest prohibition prevented powerful males
from monopolizing women. And monogamy and a stricter sexual morality were precon
ditions for the formation, from the eleventh century, of agnatic lineages. Finally, religious
writers of the period, particularly the authors of saints' lives, made frequent use of
familial images. The article contends that these images can be used in investigating the
emotional life of medieval families.
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