What was the common age for marriage in the Middle Ages?

Answer 1

Answer14 was the common age for marriage during the middle ages. AnswerA common age for marriage in the times for which we have records was about 25.

The common wisdom of today is that marriages of that time were done at a very young age. I have spent a good deal of time trying to find out the truth on this issue, and aside from the marriages of members of royalty and the high nobility, I was unable to find anything that agreed with the idea of early marriage being normal for ordinary people.

Members of royal families were often betrothed as part of arranged marriages at a very early age. This was not done too early, because the death of a child was a common occurrence, and would require a new diplomatic effort. So a common minimum age to negotiate a marriage might have been six or eight, but the marriage would take place much later, as it was pointless to marry before the age of 14 to 16.

The Church was not happy about arranged marriages and took positions against them from time to time. Religious leaders were also surprisingly open to the idea that such a marriage be easily annulled if either partner wanted out.

But ordinary marriages were another matter as 80% to 90% of the laity were people with no property and little in the way of aspirations. These people's marriages were based on common attraction in most of the peasant cultures of Europe. They were not normally done in church, during the Middle Ages, and required neither a priest nor a witness. A marriage consisted of a man and a woman declaring marriage to each other and consummating it. In some places, they had the option of registering the marriage in the local church. And from the parish records, we have an average age of about 25.

There is a good deal of sense in this. Before a marriage, a young man had to prove he could provide a living for a family, and a young woman had to collect a dowry, small as it might be, to start family life on.

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Answer 2

Any age. Marriages were usually arranged affairs, especially among the landed gentry, and their children were used to seal agreements to further the wealth and landholdings of the rich. Many were married off, or promised in marriage as young as ten years old.

Answer 3

1st Answer:

When they were 12 they were betrothed at 7 men married at 14 and were betrothed at around 9

2nd Answer:

I have seen or heard many times that medieval people married young, and the marriages were arranged. When I decided to do a little research on the subject, what I found is that this was the case in some marriages of members of royal families, where international treaties were at stake. For most people, however, this is not how it was done. The materials I have seen written by historians indicate that most marriages were delayed until proper dowries could be accumulated. In some cultures, such as among the Visigoths, this was required by law, and in others, it was custom. But the effect was that women usually got married between the ages of 20 and 25.

The Catholic Church discouraged early marriages and discouraged marriage agreements. One of the grounds for annulment was that one of the partners was too young or was required to marry according to some arrangement.

There is a link below to the European history section of an article on marriage.

Answer 4

Marriages of royalty were so important there were treaties about them, and children of kings were often married very young, sometimes at age six or eight, or even earlier.

Other wealthy people had more variation in their marriages, but they were often arranged for reasons having to do with wealth, and were sometimes done very early.

Peasant women in most of Europe during most of the Middle Ages saved up for a marriage so they could have a dowry, and peasant men and men in trades needed to show they could support a family before they could marry attractive women, so the average age of peasants and craftsmen and their wives seems to have been about 25 for much of the Middle Ages.

The laws governing these things varied widely. Interestingly, it seems the Church had very little to do with it, because most marriages were private matters not requiring a service. Theoretically, a couple could take marriage vows in complete privacy, just the two of them. They could register the fact this had happened with the local parish later, but it was optional to do so. It was not until after the Middle Ages that Church weddings were required.

There is a link below.

Answer 5

the youngest was 12, boys were 14