Betrothal In Frankish

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A legal marriage in Frankish society was a highly complex and important matter. Before the marriage could occur there was the case of the betrothal. Both the man and the woman in the presence of both of their relatives typically arranged the betrothal. The betrothal was symbolized by the bride price. As Rivers explains, “ There can be little doubt that the earliest form of marriage among the Franks, like all primitive peoples, was by wife-purchase, in which the bide was merely an object of the sale between the bridegroom and the wife’s family.” (River, 20) This bride price then belonged to the bride and was a part of her possessions if her husband passed away until the event of her remarrying. (Fischer, 42) For those who wished to become betrothed,