16th Century Research Paper

The Daily life of the French in the 16th Century differs greatly from the daily life of the 21st Century. Back then, society was led more by the group rather than the individual; now, society is led by individuals rather than the group. The people were more influenced by church as a whole than we are now. The village priest was a part of everybody's life, from birth to death. Weddings were a big deal, to not only the people getting married, but also to their families, and the village as a whole; whereas now, weddings aren't very sacred anymore. The household was ruled by the adult male of the house and everyone was to listen and respect him; now, however, there's no "head" of the household per say, it's more of a combined effort between man …show more content…
It was the one thing that wasn't ruled by the lords or the higher ranking families of the village, it was used by everyone. The priest was an integral part to every family, because he helped to guide them through their troubles. He was there for their births, their marriages, their hardships, and their deaths. Families looked to the church for advice and for approval of the things they had decided to do. Now, however, people don't turn to the church as much. And for the people that do go to church, their priest doesn't come visit them, and give them advice regularly. They don't go to him to get something approved, and they don't see him as such an integral figure in their life. They tend to look towards themselves for the answers to their problems rather than the …show more content…
For instance the wedding ceremony was taken a lot more seriously by the people of the 16th century, and even then, that was one of their less formal ceremonies! The bride and groom were not always the most willing subjects, because they were put into the marriage by their parents and people of their village. The engagements tended to last a very long time and it was the most important time for the groom and bride. The wedding itself however was most important to the village as a whole. For the wedding the dowry of the bride was given to the groom and his family, and the grooms' inheritance was shared with the bride and her family. After the wedding there would be a huge feast throughout the village and after they ate they would have dances and smaller ceremonies that symbolized the sexual congress of the bride and groom. The only way the marriage could be annulled was if they didn't consummate it on their wedding night. These days however, there is no longer a need for a huge wedding ceremony. Many people will just go straight to the court and get their marriage license or even go to a small walk-in wedding chapel. Divorces are very common these days, you don't need a big reason to separate from your spouse, and you aren't looked down on for doing it, unlike back then. Marriage is thrown around a lot now a days and it isn't as sacred as it once