The first study of early modern English courtship as a subject in its own right. New historical and anthropological insights into the making of marriage, and an arresting and exciting contribution to the history of the family. Takes the interpretation of the English church court material to a new level of sophistication. Explores new or neglected subjects such as the use of gifts or tokens and the role of go-betweens in English courtship. The fresh and wholly original perspectives on English courtship offered here should redirect and revitalise the history of marriage in early modern England. -- .

Courtship was a vitally important process in early modern England. It was a period of private and public negotiation, often fraught with anxiety. If completed successfully it brought respectability, the privileges of marriage and adulthood, and a stable union between socially, economically and emotionally compatible couples. This book represents the first major study of courtship in early modern England. Using Kent church court and probate material dating from the fifteenth to the end of the sixteenth century, it blends historical with anthropological perspectives to suggest novel and exciting approaches to the making of marriage.