Urban Family Units. One of the most significant features of marriage among urban artisan groups was its function as an economic partnership. Marriage was unencumbered by the demands of lineage and patrimony, and the extended family exerted little control over the individuals. Households tended to be small. A husband and wife with their children were the basic family unit. These people lived and worked together because the household was also an economic unit. Husbands and wives were also business partners, working together in the family shop.

Equal Partnership. The result of this economic interdependence was a more companionate view of marriage and a less hierarchical family structure. Both the husband and wife contributed to the household economy and the financial well-being of the family. Moreover, before marriage, during their teens and early twenties, wives had usually experienced a period...