This book offers an insight into the nature of medieval marriage in the period 1000 to 1500, with special emphasis on the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In order to penetrate the inwardness of marriage, Professor Brooke has used the methods of social, religious, political, and legal history, and other disciplines - art, literature, and theology. He surveys current approaches to the idea of marriage, draws in the Bible and the church fathers, and explores aspects of the practice and law of marriage. The cult of celibacy in the eleventh and twelth centuries, and the relationship between marriage and architecture are two of the themes treated in this wide-ranging study. Professor Brooke draws on a group of case studies, and sources, including the letters of Heloise and Abelard, the epics of Wolfram vol Eschenbach, and the poetry of Chaucer. In studying the history of Christian marriage, the author looks right into the human experiences within a family and within a marriage. He concludes with a chapter on the theology of marriage, and a look at the Arnolfini marriage by Jan Van Eyck.