Marriage in Italy, 1300–1650

A collection of essays about marriage and the role of women in Renaissance Italy.

Trevor Dean (Edited by), K. J. P. Lowe (Edited by)

9780521893763, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 9 May 2002

320 pages, 10 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.47 kg

'… excellent collection of essays … fresh and surprising.' The Times Literary Supplement

It is often said that marriage is a central or basic institution of society. This was perhaps more true in the past, or true in different ways, in periods when many marriages were arranged by parents, when brides were accompanied by dowries, and when marriage was used symbolically to represent the union of nuns to Christ or of rulers to their states. This volume examines four of the main areas of importance in the history of marriage: first, the wedding itself, its economics and trappings; the laws that aimed to regulate aspects of marriage; intermarriage among social groups; and, finally, the consequences of marriage for women. A number of contributions to the book set out to challenge current historical assumptions about marriage - as regards, for example, family marriage strategies or the effects of poverty and endogamy on marriage patterns in remote mountain communities.

Introduction: issues in the history of marriage Trevor Dean and Kate Lowe
Part I. Ceremonies and Festivities: 1. Wedding finery in sixteenth-century Venice Patricia Allerston
2. Secular brides and convent brides: wedding ceremonies in Italy during the Renaissance and Counter-Reformation Kate Lowe
3. The rape of the Sabine women on Quattrocento marriage panels Jacqueline Musacchio
Part II. Intervention by Church and State: 4. Fathers and daughters: marriage laws and marriage disputes in Bologna and Italy, 1200–1500 Trevor Dean
5. Marriage ceremonies and the church in Italy after 1215 David d'Avray
6. Dowry and the conversion of the Jews in sixteenth-century Rome: competition between the church and the Jewish community Piet van Boxel
7. Nobility, women and the state: marriage regulation in Venice, 1420–1535 Stanley Chojnacki
Part III. Patterns of Intermarriage: 8. Marriage, faction and conflict in sixteenth-century Italy: an example and a few questions Gérard Delille
9. Marriage in the mountains: the Florentine territorial state, 1348–1500 Samuel Kline Cohn Jr
10. Marriage and politics at the papal court in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Irene Fosi and Maria Antonietta Visceglia
Part IV. Consequences and Endings: 11. Bending the rules: marriage in Renaissance collections of biographies of famous women Stephen Kolsky
12. Separations and separated couples in fourteenth-century Venice Linda Guzzetti
13. Reconstructing the family: widowhood and remarriage in Tuscany in the early modern period Giulia Calvi.

Subject Areas: Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], European history [HBJD]