Age to marry in the medieval period

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Douglas Richardson

Age to marry in the medieval period

Legg inn av Douglas Richardson » 25 jan 2008 07:05:03

Warning: This message has been crossposted. Read this message at your
own peril.

Dear Newsgroup ~

In the past, various examples have been posted of the age which was
considered the norm to marry during the medieval period. The document
cited in the weblink below is the transcript of a letter written c.
1201 by King Philippe Auguste to Blanche [of Navarre], Countess of
Troyes, which was published in 1905 in the book, A Source Book for
Mediæval History, by Thatcher & McNeal, page 228. In his letter, the
king promises to protect and nourish Blanche's minor daughter whom she
placed in his ward, and also that he "will not give her in marriage,
until she reaches the age of twelve years." From this record, we can
gather that twelve was the minimum age that the French king would
typically marry minor female wards in his keeping.

http://books.google.com/books?id=XeZGAA ... #PPA372,M1

Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salrt Lake City, Utah

Peter Stewart

Re: Age to marry in the medieval period

Legg inn av Peter Stewart » 25 jan 2008 08:27:32

"Douglas Richardson" <royalancestry@msn.com> wrote in message
news:8062c692-7bc9-48cf-9647-a716feb6dbc1@i12g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
Warning: This message has been crossposted. Read this message at your
own peril.

The "peril" comes from crossposting in the first place (corrected
presently), not from reading messages.

Dear Newsgroup ~

In the past, various examples have been posted of the age which was
considered the norm to marry during the medieval period. The document
cited in the weblink below is the transcript of a letter written c.
1201 by King Philippe Auguste to Blanche [of Navarre], Countess of
Troyes, which was published in 1905 in the book, A Source Book for
Mediæval History, by Thatcher & McNeal, page 228. In his letter, the
king promises to protect and nourish Blanche's minor daughter whom she
placed in his ward, and also that he "will not give her in marriage,
until she reaches the age of twelve years." From this record, we can
gather that twelve was the minimum age that the French king would
typically marry minor female wards in his keeping.

And that of course is because French kings respected the ancient rule of a
12-year qualifying age, that had been instituted originally (for
concubinage, by Augustus) in the marriage law known as 'Lex Julia et Papia'.
This was repeated in the Pandects of Justinian, setting 12 as the minimum
age for girls and 14 for boys. The third Council of Carthage fixed the onset
of puberty as the earliest lawful time for marriage, without specifying
age/s. Canon law was not adamant about 12, preferring to concentrate on
bodily capacity - that is, reproductive maturity.

However, 12 was widely observed for many centuries as the youngest age at
which it was proper to marry girls, and nothing new is proved by one
instance of a French king's complying with an old & common practice.

Peter Stewart

Alex Maxwell Findlater

Re: Age to marry in the medieval period

Legg inn av Alex Maxwell Findlater » 25 jan 2008 11:45:04

 In his letter, the
king promises to protect and nourish Blanche's minor daughter whom she
placed in his ward, and also that he "will not give her in marriage,
until she reaches the age of twelve years."  From this record, we can
gather that twelve was the minimum age that the French king would
typically marry minor female wards in his keeping.

I would suggest that it shows that there was some risk that he might
have given her away before the normal age of 12, rather than that it
proves that the age of 12 was typically respected.

Renia

Re: Age to marry in the medieval period

Legg inn av Renia » 25 jan 2008 15:33:38

Alex Maxwell Findlater wrote:

In his letter, the
king promises to protect and nourish Blanche's minor daughter whom she
placed in his ward, and also that he "will not give her in marriage,
until she reaches the age of twelve years." From this record, we can
gather that twelve was the minimum age that the French king would
typically marry minor female wards in his keeping.


I would suggest that it shows that there was some risk that he might
have given her away before the normal age of 12, rather than that it
proves that the age of 12 was typically respected.

12 was the age at which consummation of marriage could generally take
place. Marriage contracts and betrothals could well have been drawn up
years previously. A betrothal wasn't the actual marriage, just a kind of
"promise to marry", generally when the girl was at least 12. We've said
all this before.

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