Marriage in Artograch

Marriage - the ritually recognized union between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them - and traditions associated with it vary significantly around Artograch, depending on region and religion alike.

Since ideas of secularism have not been advanced in any part of Artograch to a point where it would warrant a shift from church marriages to civil marriages, religiously-sanctioned church marriage remains the only form of available marriage in every part of Artograch, except in Keldorn (where marriage is viewed as little more than a political deal by the vampire clans and werewolf tribes that practice it). Nevertheless, even in religiously homogeneous areas, significant variations between the institution of marriage and the rituals that initiate it still exist.

Titanist countries
According to the Church of Titanius, marriage is the sacred union of a man and a woman in front of Titanius, and is meant to invoke forming an everlasting bond that will result in the continuation of the family and bloodline. The holy matrimony is viewed as a lifelong vow - there is a strong taboo against divorce. Spouses are expected to be loyal to each other - adultery is considered a sin, but isn't criminalized by the secular authorities. Incest is forbidden - brothers and sisters are forbidden from marrying, in fact, a person who commits incest may face execution - the punishment for sodomy.

Despite the religion's teachings that marriage should be for love and be between people who love each other and believe that they can form a stable lifelong bond, much of the elite in Titanist countries marriages for political reasons or for financial gain, as opposed to the lower class, who marry for a combination of a love and social pressure.

In every Titanist country, the ceremony that brokers the deal takes place in a church, but what happens before and after that varies.

Froturn
In the Kingdom of Froturn, one's freedom to choose his or her spouse depends on the person's social status and the attitude of the patriarch of the extended family. Due to the fact that Froturn has clan-like extended families rather than small nuclear families, women don't change their family names after marrying, keeping their original names. Regardless of one's social standing, some patriarchs may love to micromanage every action of the family, arranging every marriage for the family members - others may allow members of the family to marry at their own will, with the majority standing in between, keeping a right to veto one's wish for marriage, if they view the potential spouse as unsuitable.

At the upper ends of the social ladder, the biggest consideration is "Will this marriage benefit the family?" and "Will this marriage secure an aliance with a powerful family to deter rivals?", while at the lower ends, where rivalries between families are much less frequent, the main consideration is financial support.

In the aftermath of the actual marriage ceremony, it is expected that a feast should take place. For richer couples, honeymoons are also a standard practice, with the most frequent destination being Dragoc. It is also expected that the husband's family should provide a gift for the wife. For more affluent families, this gift is traditionally jewellery. Not necessarily a ring - in fact, before rings became standard around 300 AEKE, wedding necklaces were much more common and popular. When rings became mainstream, it became expected for both the wife and the husband to wear it - before that, only wives were obliged to wear wedding jewellry.