Getting Married in Renaissance England as Presented in the Conduct Literature for Women

Abstract

There were two “career paths” open to Renaissance women in England — entering a monastery or getting married. With the introduction of reformation the first option vanished. Getting married opened varying possibilities. On one hand the contemporary promotion of marriage reinforced the patriarchal system of the society (a man is its head and the woman and children are his subjects). On the other, the idea of a “companionate marriage” allowing husbands and wives a certain degree of equality was formulated for the first time also by sixteenth–century thinkers. The traces of the Renaissance debate on which form of life is more pious and pleasing to God – celibate or married – can also be found in the conduct literature for women, on top of other advice referring to marriage.