A Guide To The Timeless Gap Between Wedding And Betrothal In Renaissance Times

The actual wedding ceremony was religious in nature and based on three things: consent, exchange of tokens like a ring, and the consummation. Betrothals could be terminated by mutual consent and one could withdraw without the permission of the other only if they were guilty of heresy, guilty of infidelity, had a pre-contract, or were already married without you knowing, were guilty of drunkenness or wickedness, or have a long separation had occurred between them.

Betrothal duration varies by culture and participants' needs

The exact duration of a betrothal varies according to culture and the participants’ needs and wishes. For adults, it may be anywhere from several hours (when the betrothal is incorporated into the wedding day itself) to a period of several years. A year and a day are common in neo-pagan groups today. In the case of child marriage, betrothal might last from infancy until the age of marriage.

In Jewish weddings during Talmudic times (c. 1st century BC – 6th century AD), the two ceremonies of betrothal (erusin) and wedding usually took place up to a year apart. The bride lived with her parents until the actual marriage ceremony (nissuin), which would take place in a room or tent that the groom had set up for her.

In historical cultures (including colonial North America), the betrothal was essentially a trial marriage, with marriage only being required in cases of conception of a child.

In most cultures, the betrothed couple is expected to spend much time together, learning about each other.

In Talmudic times, Jewish weddings took up to a year between betrothal and wedding

The responsibilities and privileges of betrothal vary. In most cultures, the betrothed couple is expected to spend much time together, learning about each other. In some historical cultures (including colonial North America), the betrothal was essentially a trial marriage, with marriage only being required in cases of conception of a child.

The exact duration of a betrothal varies according to culture and the participants’ needs and wishes. For adults, it may be anywhere from several hours (when the betrothal is incorporated into the wedding day itself) to a period of several years. A year and a day are common in neo-pagan groups today. In the case of child marriage, betrothal might last from infancy until the age of marriage.

Girls could get married at the age of 12. For boys, it was 14. Though usually only noble arranged marriages between princes and princesses of different countries had betrothal and ceremonies, and got married this young. The official age of consent was 21. Thomas More himself recommended that girls not married before 18 and boys not before 22. For non-noble families, the average age of marriage was similar to what it is now, around 25 or 26 for men, and 23 or 24 for women. This was largely because men needed to finish apprenticeships before they could have the money to support a family.

There was a span of over 120 years there, and certainly, we can see in our own time, that our own views of marriage have changed greatly in the past 120 years. So to take any one time period and use it as a snapshot for the entire Renaissance period wouldn’t be accurate.

Child marriage betrothal can last from infancy to marriage age

In the case of child marriage, betrothal might last from infancy until the age of marriage. The responsibilities and privileges of betrothal vary. In most cultures, the betrothed couple is expected to spend much time together, learning about each other. In some historical cultures, including colonial North America, the betrothal was essentially a trial marriage, with marriage only being required in cases of conception of a child.

In Jewish weddings during Talmudic times (c. 1st century BC – 6th century AD), the two ceremonies of betrothal (erusin) and wedding usually took place up to a year apart; the bride lived with her parents until the actual marriage ceremony (nissuin), which would take place in a room or tent that the groom had set up for her.

Girls could get married at the age of 12. For boys, it was 14. Though usually only noble arranged marriages between princes and princesses of different countries had betrothal and ceremonies, and got married this young. The official age of consent was 21. Thomas More himself recommended that girls not married before 18 and boys not before 22. For non-noble families, the average age of marriage was similar to what it is now, around 25 or 26 for men, and 23 or 24 for women. This was largely because men needed to finish apprenticeships before they could have the money to support a family.

There was a span of over 120 years there, and certainly, we can see in our own time, that our own views of marriage have changed greatly in the past 120 years. So to take any one time period and use it as a snapshot for the entire Renaissance period wouldn’t be accurate.

In neo-pagan groups, a year and a day is common

The responsibilities and privileges of betrothal vary and depend on the culture and the participants' needs and wishes. In most cultures, the betrothed couple is expected to spend much time together, learning about each other. In some historical cultures, including colonial North America, the betrothal was essentially a trial marriage, with marriage only being required in cases of the conception of a child.

The exact duration of a betrothal varies according to culture and the participants’ needs and wishes. For adults, it may be anywhere from several hours (when the betrothal is incorporated into the wedding day itself) to a period of several years.

In Jewish weddings during Talmudic times (c. 1st century BC – 6th century AD), the two ceremonies of betrothal (erusin) and wedding usually took place up to a year apart. The bride lived with her parents until the actual marriage ceremony (nissuin), which would take place in a room or tent that the groom had set up for her.

In the 16th century, Thomas More recommended that girls not be married before the age of 18 and boys not before the age of 22. For non-noble families, the average age of marriage was around 25 or 26 for men, and 23 or 24 for women.

Colonial North America had betrothal as a trial marriage

In colonial North America, the betrothal was a trial marriage, with marriage only being required in cases of conception of a child. The responsibilities and privileges of betrothal vary and in most cultures, the betrothed couple is expected to spend much time together, learning about each other. In colonial North America, the betrothal was a trial marriage, with marriage only being required in cases of conception of a child.

The exact duration of a betrothal varies according to culture and the participants’ needs and wishes. For adults, it may be anywhere from several hours (when the betrothal is incorporated into the wedding day itself) to a period of several years. A year and a day are common in neo-pagan groups today. In the case of child marriage, betrothal might last from infancy until the age of marriage.

In Jewish weddings during Talmudic times (c. 1st century BC – 6th century AD), the two ceremonies of betrothal (erusin) and wedding usually took place up to a year apart. The bride lived with her parents until the actual marriage ceremony (nissuin), which would take place in a room or tent that the groom had set up for her.

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