this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2023
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[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

From the University of Nottingham:

People from land-owning families did not normally marry for love. Instead, most such marriages were arranged by their parents or guardians.

Arranged marriages remain an important part of the culture of many societies in the world today, for the same implicit reasons that probably motivated medieval English people: for the creation of stable family units based on respect and duty, in which love can grow; and to protect and increase the family’s wealth and status by association with another family of equal or higher repute.

Peasant women who did not own any land were not exempt from some kind of control over their marriage, as many manorial lords demanded payment of a sum of money called a ‘merchet’

https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/learning/medievalwomen/theme5/marriagearrangements.aspx

There are plenty of examples, both rich and poor, if you scroll down.