Two of the institutions most important in Medieval Europe were the church and the family. Women played a large role in the formation of both, and it is no surprise the two were often expected to go hand in hand. Women were expected to fall into a certain religious path - one of piety, virtue, and Christianity, and when that path was strayed from, many women were condemned, persecuted, or used.
Religious differences were common when Medieval Europe began to split into separate religious factions. Marriage was expected to be between members of one religion, and the sanctity of marriage was guaranteed if both members if the couple was religious. Marriages were sacred in much of medieval Europe, but religious differences not only affected who could marry who, but to what level there marriage would be recognized by those around them.
Constance of "The Man of Law's Tale" is a prime example of a religious pawn. …
