Marriage

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

the legal union of man for life; the state or condiand woman tion of being married; wedlock. In law marriage is regarded in no other light than a civil contract. The law allows it to be valid where the parties were willing to contract, able to contract, and did contract in the form required by law. In England, whence our laws are derived, disabilities to contract were formerly or civil. considered as either canonical Consanguinity, affinity, and corporal inmakfirmity were canonical disabilities, ing the marriage voidable, but not ipso facto void, till sentence of nullity had been obtained. The last of these is now, however, the only canonical disability on which marriages, otherwise regular, can be declared void. The others have by civil disabilities, statute been declared which make the contract void ab initio. In the United States the marriage laws are as diverse as the statutes of the commonwealths are in other features, and unknown there are various impediments to the English law. In some States the law is founded on the English statutes features of both canonical and embraces and civil law prohibiting marriage for all heretofore enumerated. In of the causes others consanguinity of less degree than bar that of sister and brother forms no to the marriage of persons, while in yet others a difference of race will inhibit an alliance. The absence of a recognized status of the Church in the United States necessarily places all obstacles to marriage in the catalogue of civil disability, and in many of the States a ceremonial celebration is not necessary to render a marriage valid, mutual consent before witnesses (or subsequent acknowledg ment before witnesses) constituting what is known as a common law marriage. In all of the States, besides the reasons here adverted to there are three other civil disabilities: (1) A prior marriage (without legal release), in which case, besides the penalties consequent upon it as a felony, the second marriage is void. (2) Want of age, which is sufficient to avoid all other contracts, a fortiori it ought to avoid this, the most important contract of any. (3) Want of reason. Marriages are dissolved by death or diness. The title of Marquis is often at- Communal marriage, a name for the vorce. condition which is sometimes called hetairism or promiscuity. Complex marriage, the domestic relationship between the sexes existing in the American sect calling themselves Perfectionists. Marriage by capture, the practice of getting wives by theft or force.