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Women, Rank, and Marriage in the British Aristocracy, 1485–2000The Marriage Market

Women, Rank, and Marriage in the British Aristocracy, 1485–2000: The Marriage Market [The search for an appropriate husband often took place in what has been termed since the sixteenth century as the “marriage market”. Much of the maneuvering for a mate took place within very constrained circumstances, most often in the London Season. Young elite women used the balls and parties of the London Season to conduct their quest for an appropriate husband. The ultimate aim was to fall in love with a man whom their family would consider fitting. In May 1808 at the age of 17 Sarah Spencer gave an account of a ball that she attended where she danced “the two last with Lord Percy,1 who, being to be one day the Duke of Northumberland, is of course the best partner in London, by the unanimous consent of the young ladies, who agree that he is the most charming, interesting, bewitching, fascinating youth that ever trod with the light fantastic toe the chalked floor of any ballroom in Europe since the days of his ancestor Hotspur...”2 There is a sardonic tone in this description, but it describes a potent truth: high social status enhanced one’s charm. Four years later, Sarah described the perfect mate, “Lord Herbert3 is handsome, rather, he is nobly born, very; he will have a fortune, sufficient, and his connection is admirable.”4 One of the notable aspects of the marriage market throughout the period under discussion here is the vital role in its functioning played by aristocratic women. This has consistently been one area in which they exercise real agency and through the exercise of that power they have gone a long way in safeguarding noble rank identity by ensuring that elite women married appropriately.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

Women, Rank, and Marriage in the British Aristocracy, 1485–2000The Marriage Market

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References (4)

Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan UK
Copyright
© Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited 2014
ISBN
978-1-349-46021-2
Pages
87 –105
DOI
10.1057/9781137327802_6
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[The search for an appropriate husband often took place in what has been termed since the sixteenth century as the “marriage market”. Much of the maneuvering for a mate took place within very constrained circumstances, most often in the London Season. Young elite women used the balls and parties of the London Season to conduct their quest for an appropriate husband. The ultimate aim was to fall in love with a man whom their family would consider fitting. In May 1808 at the age of 17 Sarah Spencer gave an account of a ball that she attended where she danced “the two last with Lord Percy,1 who, being to be one day the Duke of Northumberland, is of course the best partner in London, by the unanimous consent of the young ladies, who agree that he is the most charming, interesting, bewitching, fascinating youth that ever trod with the light fantastic toe the chalked floor of any ballroom in Europe since the days of his ancestor Hotspur...”2 There is a sardonic tone in this description, but it describes a potent truth: high social status enhanced one’s charm. Four years later, Sarah described the perfect mate, “Lord Herbert3 is handsome, rather, he is nobly born, very; he will have a fortune, sufficient, and his connection is admirable.”4 One of the notable aspects of the marriage market throughout the period under discussion here is the vital role in its functioning played by aristocratic women. This has consistently been one area in which they exercise real agency and through the exercise of that power they have gone a long way in safeguarding noble rank identity by ensuring that elite women married appropriately.]

Published: Nov 29, 2015

Keywords: Eighteenth Century; Sixteenth Century; Marriage Market; Young Lady; Elite Woman

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