The fact that many young people left their towns and families to seek service and apprenticeships elsewhere also meant that they were freer to pursue courtship with a relative lack of supervision. Parents still exercised considerable control over marriage selection-and few people married without regard for questions of property and financial well-being-but children were now being given the right of veto and a somewhat greater latitude to follow their hearts in the choice of a spouse. While redistribution of resources still played a role in marriage choices-and loomed large in the essential negotiations of courtship-the emphasis on the wider collective interests of kin, community, and lordship began taking a back seat to warmer domestic values and greater individual choice. This changed to a certain degree in the early modern era. Personal liking-or love-was not a requirement. In Medieval England, marriages were often arranged-although mutual consent was generally desirable-and focused on kinship bonds and a rearrangement of property. While historians debate the extent to which these societal and individual changes led to new ideas about marriage-or, conversely, whether evolving views of marriage and the family actually brought about these changes-the fact remains that the early modern period helped define what we think of today as marriage. New economic opportunities, the weakening of family and community ties through greater mobility, and an increased awareness of individual rights and responsibilities led to a larger sense of independence and self-possession. The early modern era in England (1550-1700) ushered in a variety of changes in the way people lived and how they viewed themselves. But once Wheatcroft did get married, what was that experience like? He apparently rebounded, for his diary contains at least two other poetic offerings dedicated to women he admired. Romantic? Not.Frances’s reaction is not recorded, but her father was less than enchanted, bolting the door against poor, lovelorn Leonard. Then we watched a horror film in bed with mugs of Yorkshire tea and fell asleep. I got grease and ketchup on my pink satin underwear. We ordered bacon sandwiches and fresh orange juice and lay on the bed eating them in our underwear and talking about the day. We left quietly in a taxi and went to the country house hotel PIL had treated us to two nights at. We drank champagne, ate, danced, drank some more, danced and by 8.00pm had had enough. Food was great, there was a courtyard outside and a small swing band. We got married in a registry office at 1 pm and had a reception at an Italian restaurant owned by friends of PIL. She asked if our wedding night was romantic. She was talking about the wedding plans and told me she has bought lovely underwear for the wedding night and how romantic it is going to be - amazingly they have not slept together! She called round for a coffee this afternoon. DH has a cousin, 21, who is getting married in September.
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