What was elizabethan attitudes to marriage and love?
The higher up the social scale you were, the less important love was in marriage. Wealthy children would generally have their marriages arranged for them to expand their wealth, land and power. Royal children would often be betrothed to other (foreign) royal princes or princesses for political reasons – though these betrothals sometimes came to nothing as the political scene changed. It was held to be important that the two parties did actually get along together, and often love would grow out of such an arrangement, but there were also marriages – like today – that just didn’t work. A few parents took no notice of their children’s preferences; Lady Jane Grey, a little earlier than the Elizabethan era, was married to Guilford Dudley, much against her will. However, children were expected to obey their parents and usually did so. The lower down the social scale you were, the more likely you were able to marry the person of your choice, and you would usually marry later than the young ma
