Course:History 344 Nasty Families/Marriage/Marrying a son into France

Marriage into France

In the seventeenth century it was not unheard of to marry children into other countries. In fact this would be considered a good idea as it allowed the family to increase social ties and have potential trading partners in the future. There are many examples of Royal families marrying their children to other countries; however there are a few things to consider first. When looking to marry into France one must remember that France is a country that practices Catholicism, meaning that those practising that religion would be better suited to marry there.

A second important fact to consider is that France’s economy was mainly filled with those of the working class, with limited nobility, similarly to England. During the seventeenth century in France it was stated that one could expect “warmly affectionate relationships were relatively rare for the majority of the population, and that dutiful or even dour resignation to the economic necessity of marriage was widespread”. This could be considered important as marriage between the two countries would be easier to achieve if the families could potentially aid the each other, either financially or through status.

As far as the marriage laws in France in the seventeenth centuries they were quite simple for males wishing to marry a French bride. The majority of the rules were quite similar to the ones today, mainly regarding minimal age for marriage and parental consent. The minimal age for marriage as of fifteen-seventy-nine was thirty for males and twenty-five for females. If one was under this age the need for parental consent and guardian consent. Another requirement was that priests could not marry someone outside of their parish, without permission from that parish . In conclusion one could marry into France if they knew a family there, could in some way benefit that family, had parental and guardian permission, and had permission from their parish.