Expert: Joseph Logue - 8/2/2009

Question
Hi, I'm writing a book [fictional] in the form of diary entries of an 18yo girl in the Tudor era - the year is around the 1550's. She is recently married [it was arranged by her father] and has one young daughter [less than a year] who was concieved two months before the marriage.

I have done extensive research into how life was for young women around that time, and I like to think that my work so far is fairly accurate. However I keep finding varied accounts on the usual age for marriage and families. I was wondering if you could tell me if you know anything about this topic, and jobs for young men in this time too.
My main questions are --

-What was the usual age for young women to be married - by arranged marriage?
-Is it unrealistic for the young couple to actually fall in love through an arranged meeting.
-What were jobs like for young men [20years old] who have come from wealthy families? Especially carpentry.
-Is it true that wealthier families reproduced more frequently?
-How where women commonly treated by their husbands?

Anything you could ask would be very helpful, I just can't seem to find any info anywhere. If you have some good links to websites with alot of Tudor History I would be very grateful!

Thanks :)

Answer
Hello Lorri,

It is my guess that you cannot find much of anything because the questions are so broad.  There was never a "usual" age for arranged marriages, but the contracts for them could have been drawn up at any time after the birth of the children involved.  They may have waited a few years to make sure the child would grow up healthy and survive into adulthood.  Adulthood, I think, would constitue any period commencing with the ability to have children.  The idea of an 18-year old being an adult, but not a 17-year old is modern, not late medieval.

I do not think it unusual for an arranged couple to fall in love.

"Jobs" for the sons of wealthy families would entail anything to do with management of the landed estate, or the clergy.  Wealthy is a tricky term here, because there was so little wealth outside of the aristocracy.  Rich merchants usually received some notice from court.  Their children would be meant for higher things, while carpentry is most decidedly a trade.  Trades would be open to the children of poorer families, with apprenticehips followed by a period of being a journeyman.  It was also a good way to get them out of the house.

Wealthy families reproducing more frequently?  Hmm, tricky.  Fertility is really fairly blind to such things, though our modern sense tells us that those with money could afford to have more children, but the spouses could face infertility or suffer miscarriages just like any modern family.  I don't think there is any way that a blanket statement could be made here.

Women were chattel, who belonged to their husbands like animals or furniture.  But men were not sadistic and systematic brutalizers of women; there are probably millions of stories of couples who shared tender relationships.  Men were definitely legally entitled to their wives body and soul.

Now, as far as other bits of Tudor history you'll have to do a bit more reading I think.  John Guy and Mark Kurlansky both write extensively about the period (chiefly royal, but with social observations).  Richard Scarisbrooke also is someone worth looking into.

Finally Lorri, I would add that since you're writing fiction you can go in any direction you wish since there were bound to be anomalies in any social construct.  If you think arranged marriages were loveless generally, then write about the one that wasn't.  It's your book.

Good luck to you!  Let me know when it's published and I'll buy it for my library.

Sincerely,

Joseph Logue