Timeline for Where, when and why did the practice of proxy marriage originate?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
9 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 21, 2016 at 3:24 | comment | added | Greg | @AlainPannetier In case of Marie Antoinette one issue was that she couldn't even enter the country due to her citizenship. She had to pass the border naked, without any personal belongings when finally was handled over the French. I suspect marrying a proxy was part of her naturalization / avoiding an unnecessary travel. | |
| Sep 11, 2013 at 18:51 | comment | added | Tom Au | @Voitcus: Eventually. (In most cases.) If one of them didn't die first. | |
| Jun 25, 2013 at 7:23 | comment | added | Voitcus | But did they ever meet and consummate marriage in "normal" way? | |
| May 25, 2013 at 23:16 | answer | added | Tom Au | timeline score: 1 | |
| Jun 24, 2012 at 17:27 | comment | added | Alain Pannetier | ... to not mark such an event (the union of the only heir of the Medici dynasty which had given 3 popes and one queen of France already) with the lavish ceremonies they organised on the occasion. I can't answer the OP's question but it seems to me that the alliances between powerful, and inevitably geographically remote, dynasties would have entailed lengthy (and costly) travels and that was simply not practical especially in turbulent periods (another example is Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette). | |
| Jun 24, 2012 at 17:14 | comment | added | Alain Pannetier | @T.E.D. in another contemporary (1600) wedding,that of Maria de Medici with Henri IV of France, the proxy wedding was celebrated in Florence. One of the canvases of Rubens' Maria de Medici cycle depicts the event. The proxy was Maria's uncle the Grand Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany and he dutifully put his (naked?) leg on top of his niece's leg to symbolically consume the union. I guess it was not practical for Henry to go all the way to Florence and the Medici were too proud ... | |
| Jun 22, 2012 at 16:35 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/#!/StackHistory/status/216207901621092352 | ||
| Jun 22, 2012 at 13:52 | comment | added | T.E.D.♦ | That's not quite the "proxy consumation" process I pictured. Shame. :-) | |
| Jun 22, 2012 at 11:08 | history | asked | lins314159 | CC BY-SA 3.0 |