German betrothals, which could only be annulled for a serious reason, strongly resembled Latin ones--that is, they were a sale of the girl in anticipation by her legal owners. It was necessary for the girl to have the consent of her father, or her nearest relative, for her marriage. As widow, having been purchased, she belonged to the relatives of her dead husband, and could not marry again without their leave.[621] The feudalism of the Middle Ages was careful not to emancipate the woman, and she remained a minor, or even less, since the Code of Beaumanoir says (titre lvii.)--“Every husband can beat his wife when she will not obey his commands, or when she curses him or contradicts him, provided that he does it moderately, and that death does not follow in consequence.” Among the Saxons, the Burgundians, and the Germans in general, the widow was subjected to the rule of her eldest son as soon as he had attained the age of fifteen. In the Middle Ages the woman surprised in committing adultery might be executed by her husband, who even had the right to call in the aid of her son.[622] In the ninth and tenth centuries, however, among the Saxons in England, an advance that was quite exceptional took place. The young girl could marry herself, was not repudiable at will, had her own property and her keys, and the penal law of her husband ceased to weigh upon her.[623] This progress was quite local, and operated spontaneously, quite independently of Christian influence. In fact, Christianity has only emancipated women spiritually, and its real influence on marriage has been injurious. Doubtless the Christian wife might hope to become a seraph in the next world, but in this she was only a servant or a slave. In Greco-Roman antiquity marriage had been considered, as it ought to be, a civil institution. Legislation, more or less sensible and intelligent, regarded it simply from the point of view of population.