words of day- husband
For those of you who find marriage patriarchal, it might interest you to know the origin of this word. Whether marriage has been, or is currently a patriarchal institution is another issue, but the history is interesting.
Husband
literally, in Anglo-Saxon: house-bound (hus=house+band=bound).
In Saxon culture property belonged to the women and was handed down matrilineally. He was bound to care for her house, animals (animal husbandry?) and land, but was not considered part of the continuing family, officially a "stranger", or a guest in the woman's home. Before Islam changed things, the same was true in ancient Arabia and in India, as it was true in several native American tribes before the Europeans came.
The word "bridegroom" literally means the bride's servant.
Interesting.
One could argue that "wife" (Saxon "wif") is equally defined by the man. Some translations will say "wif" just means woman, some "married woman". I suppose the idea is either that a woman is not a complete woman until marriage, or that it really just means "married woman".
"Virgin" in the ancient world was the title of an unmarried woman, not one who hadn't had sex. Various cultures specifically had "holy prostitutes"- who were unmarried, but certainly having sex. These women were considered sacred and had a great deal of status as priestesses and healers. Examples are Hindu devadasis, Egyptian ghazye, early Vestal Virgins in Greece, and Persian Horae (where we get both "hour" and "whore" from).
It was only later when sex before marriage was such a taboo that it became synonymous with someone who hasn't had sex. This certainly brings up some questions about the "Virgin Birth" of a certain carpenter's kid.
Husband
literally, in Anglo-Saxon: house-bound (hus=house+band=bound).
In Saxon culture property belonged to the women and was handed down matrilineally. He was bound to care for her house, animals (animal husbandry?) and land, but was not considered part of the continuing family, officially a "stranger", or a guest in the woman's home. Before Islam changed things, the same was true in ancient Arabia and in India, as it was true in several native American tribes before the Europeans came.
The word "bridegroom" literally means the bride's servant.
Interesting.
One could argue that "wife" (Saxon "wif") is equally defined by the man. Some translations will say "wif" just means woman, some "married woman". I suppose the idea is either that a woman is not a complete woman until marriage, or that it really just means "married woman".
"Virgin" in the ancient world was the title of an unmarried woman, not one who hadn't had sex. Various cultures specifically had "holy prostitutes"- who were unmarried, but certainly having sex. These women were considered sacred and had a great deal of status as priestesses and healers. Examples are Hindu devadasis, Egyptian ghazye, early Vestal Virgins in Greece, and Persian Horae (where we get both "hour" and "whore" from).
It was only later when sex before marriage was such a taboo that it became synonymous with someone who hasn't had sex. This certainly brings up some questions about the "Virgin Birth" of a certain carpenter's kid.