Abstract

The need for relative age equality between husband and wife was addressed in the rapidly growing literature on the conditions of a happy marriage. It was thought that ignoring prescriptive literature would lead to marital strife and even abuse (at the hands of disgruntled husbands or even wives). The image below, a satire on age disparity, suggests that money was the motive for this unequal marriage.

Old Woman with a Young Man (1st Half of the 16th Century)

  • Hans Sebald Beham

Source

Source: Hans Sebald Beham. Woodcut (1st half of the 16th century). Reproduction: Directmedia Publishing GmbH, Berlin.