'No medievalist can afford to ignore this book, which is a truly magisterial achievement, worthy of the highest praise.' Alastair Minnis, Medium Ævum
1. Marriage as a sacrament; Part I. Augustine: 2. Marriage in Augustine's writings; 3. Bonum prolis, bonum fidei: the utility of marriage; 4. Bonum sacramenti: the sanctity and insolubility of marriage; Part II. Getting Married: Consent, Betrothal, and Consummation: 5. Betrothal and consent; 6. Consummation; 7. From competing theories to common doctrine in the twelfth century; Part III. The Twelfth Century: Origins and Early Development of the Sacramental Theology of Marriage: 8. Introduction to the sentential literature on marriage; 9. The theology of marriage in the Sententiae; 10. Hugh of Saint-Victor; 11. The early doctrine of marriage as one of the sacraments; Part IV. The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries: Development of the Classical Doctrine: 12. Marriage as union; 13. Scholastic sexual ethics; 14. Marriage as a sacrament; 15. The question of grace; 16. Human contract and divine sacrament; Part V. The Council of Trent: 17. On the eve of the General Council; 18. The Sacrament of marriage at Bologna and Trent; 19. Clandestine marriage: Bologna, 1547; 20. Clandestine marriage: Trent, 1563.