Courtship
By 1550, the practice of parents marrying off their young children
(sometimes even
as young as four years of age or younger) had all but
ceased. Arranged marriages
of any type were becoming socially scorned
upon in part due to the increasing
role wealth and money played in these
unions. Although the acceptance of a potential
suitor by one's parents was
still of utmost importance, this left eligible men
and women with some deal
of freedom in their selection of a spouse.
After Henry
VIII's separation
from Catherine of Arragon, the church
became increasingly
involved in their well publicized and enforced incest
laws. These laws eliminated
a number of potential marriage matches by
blood. Since most villages tended
to be a couple hundred people in size, the
number of healthy, single choices from
the same age group from which to
choose. Eligible single persons often had to look
to neighboring villages for
their mate.
Popular places for young people to meet were fairs and markets, which
provided an opportunity for singles to socialize with larger groups of
teens
from more distant
villages. Churches, pubs, and town squares were meeting
places for youth
and often they would travel to neighboring villages for social
events and entertainment.
Teenagers commonly left their parents homes to
become tradesmen,
apprentices, maids and servants. These positions could
offer even more chances to meet eligible youth, as courtship and the
marriage of two servants of the same
household was fairly common.
Surprisingly, the expression of interest in
another person
was left to either sex. A
smitten female would
make social calls
and bear gifts for her interest.
These
gifts often consisted of rings, coins,
gloves
(these being the most popular items),
as
well as toys, kerchiefs, ribbons, laces,
any
type of jewelry imaginable, hats, shoes,
purses, knives, hose, and believe it or not --
girdles! These gifts could be a simple token
of one's affection, or have strings attached,
such as in the
case of Richard Clething
telling his beloved,
"I will give you this
kerchief on the condition
that you shall
never have another husband
while I live
but me."
Young couples had the freedom to meet both
publicly and privately. They
could court or
go on dates (using modern terms) to market,
church and
`
church events, visit at each others'
homes, parks, barns, gardens, fields, and
while on the job. Courtship did not
imply marriage, and couples had
to be
careful about what they said to each other
since any promise or expressed
intent to marry was legally binding according to the
laws of the Church. If a
couple did mutually express an intent to marry, money
was needed, or else
they could plan on a long engagement until they could raise the
necessary
funds to provide a stable beginning for the potentially soon-to-be family.