What was love to young ppl during the elizabethan era?
Love was a dream seldom fulfilled in the 1600’s. It was the stuff of romantic stories. It was completely, for the most part, seperated from marriage. Marriage depended on the class your family was in. Among poor laborers and artisans, love matches could be made with more frequency than if your family was of the merchant class or aristocracy. Even among the artisans, parents wanted their children to marry someone suitable – of their own guild or class – but if you belonged to the merchant class, your parents wouldn’t consult your feelings so much as whether the prospective spouse came from a good enough family, was wealthy, or in the case of the bride, brought an ample dowry. Even greater strictures were placed on young people of the ruling classes. The person your parents selected for you would not only be your match or better in lineage and wealth, but would also have to be politically sound. In many cases, the royal assent would have to be given to the marriage. Since many of the rul
