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Marriage is an ancient institution that still persists to today. While many think marriage is a natural state in human societies, the reality is its history is complex in its early development and the fact we see multiple types of marriage systems, including monogamous and polygamous marriages, indicates different developments around the world. Marriage systems have often been related to the development of land, property, and other assets, as marriage also relates to inheritance and establishing the future for households. In Western regions, this is no different, although over time, for most of our history over the last two thousand years, marriage had become more narrowly defined than it initially was.

In most cases we see from early historical Europe is these societies were patrilineal and patrilocal, where households would be headed by a man and the wife was expected to live in the husband's household. Marriage was seen as a social practice that supported public interest, specifically continuing society and raising children, rather than a romantic pursuit (Figure 1). Adultery could lead to divorce or even punishment. Adultery was defined as a man having sex with another man's wife (but not a married man having sex with an unmarried woman). Punishment was often carried out by the husband or father in cases of adultery.<ref>For more on Greek and Roman marriage and law, which later influenced Christian and European marriage views, see: Beryl Rawson (ed.) (2011) <i>A companion to families in the Greek and Roman worlds</i>. Blackwell companions to the ancient world. Literature and culture. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K. ; Malden, MA, Wiley-Blackwell.</ref>

In other parts of Europe, particularly Celtic regions, where the Brehon Law documents this social pattern, marriage was polygamous and monogamous. Women tended to have more choice and rights for selection of partners relative to Greek and Roman societies. However, there was also strong family pressure on the spouses from families, as marriage helped create alliances. Celts may have been one of the few European societies to also allow multiple husbands for a woman, as this seems to be suggested in cases given that there was more choice on marital patterns in Celtic societies. Homosexual marriages do not seem to have occurred or at least were not documented. Interestingly, law governed polygamous marriage. For instance, some Celtic law may have allowed the first wife to murder the second after the first few days of marriage, where the only punishment would be a fine. Marriage was also more of a civil matter rather than one that incorporated religion. There was also no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, as all had rights to inherit if the parents agreed to this. Divorce also seemed to be easily obtained where one spouse could simply just leave to initiate the end of the marriage.<ref>For more on Celtic marriages, see: Dougherty, M.J. (2015) <i>Celts: the history and legacy of one of the oldest cultures in Europe</i>. London, United Kingdom, Amber Books.</ref>