Background Information
- The following documents show a marriage and divorce contract for ordinary people in Muslim Spain – very few everyday documents from Muslim Spain have survived. This is in large part because medieval Muslim society did not place heavy importance on written records like they did in Christian regions. Also, the documents that were not disposed of after use were either lost or destroyed later as Muslims left the peninsula or converted to Christianity.
Marriage Contract
- This marriage contract is written in a very happy tone and includes many references from the Quran. The contract also lays out agreements between the two families, for example, the father of the bride has received 375 dinars out of the total bride price of 610 dinars with the remaining amount to be paid in two years. All recipients have to be “sound of mind”. The marriage contract is actually a contract that requires formal consent and guidelines that must be followed.
Divorce Contract
- While Christians condemned and forbade divorce, Muslim and Jewish law permitted it. In this case, the woman is divorcing the husband which was more unusual. There are certain agreements between the two parties which were laid out in the marriage agreement in case divorce ever occurred. For example, no liability will fall on the husband and the woman must take care of their daughter. The agreements tend to favor the man.
Constable, Olivia R. Medieval Iberia: Readings from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Sources. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012. Print.