On 2014-07-13 11:25 AM, jmcquown wrote:

>>> Dave yah should have used a sarcasm emoticon
>>>
>>
>>
>> I thought it was so obvious that no emoticon would be necessary.
>>
> Sorry, I'm a little under the weather so it went right over my head.
> Still, I didn't plan an elaborate wedding. Not everyone does. The
> subject wasn't about elaborate weddings, anyway. lucretia is likely
> right: marriage was most likely created by men for the purpose of
> expanding landholdings. The Church likely had something to do with it,
> too.

Take a look back at the institution of marriage and the ownership of
land. Most people did not own land. That was a privilege of the ruling
classes, and and usually acquired by allegiance to kings or their
nobles. Marriage was widely practiced among the lower classes in feudal
societies. They had no land. They were only allowed to farm small lots
in return for a share of the harvest and for military service.