文艺复兴时期意大利的家庭与婚姻

在文艺复兴时期的意大利城市，家庭间的纽带关系是延续家族的一个重要因素。为了保障家族延续下去，家庭的父母都会通过精心安排子女的婚姻来加强生意或家族间的联系。婚姻的细节一早在孩子两三岁的时候就已经被计划好了，而且会通过签署一份法律联姻合同确定下来。合同中相当重要的一部分就是嫁妆的多少．即女方家庭在新娘出嫁时付给新郎的礼金的数量。嫁妆可能涉及较大数目的金钱．这也是所有家庭所期盼的。

Family and Marriage in Renaissance Italy

The family bond was a source of great security in the urban world of Renaissance Italy. To maintain the family, careful attention was given to marriages that were arranged by parents, often to strengthen business or family ties. Details were worked out well in advance, sometimes when children were only two or three, and reinforced by a legally binding marriage contract. The important aspect of the contract was the size of the dowry, a sum of money presented by the wife＇s family to the husband upon marriage. The dowry could involve large sums of money and was expected of all families.