Noble Marriages Society

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Marriages of the Middle Ages between members of the nobility and wealthy burghers, were marriages of convenience rather than of love. The higher the status of the newlyweds, the less likely it was that they entered into a relationship on the basis of romantic affection. It was not that the ideal of love at first sight or eternal love didn’t exist in the Middle Ages, it was just that the practical side of the matter did not favour these ideas.
First and foremost, there was a need to increase political influence; secondly, there was a need to ensure the continuation of the family line and succession. Marriage was a means of diplomacy and trade, through which the passing on of crowns and hereditary claims to entire empires happened. Not infrequently it was marriage that sealed a truce between opposing parties or secured an election in a forthcoming provincial assembly.
Marriage of minors was often decided long before the prospective bride or groom reached sexual maturity.

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