The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c7.s3.60

c7.s3.60

Before concluding this section it may be pointed out that child marriages were quite common in Europe also for a long time. In ancient Rome maidens were married at the age of 10 or 12 (Müller, *Family*, p. 260). In the age of chivalry girls were often married at the age of 5, simply because marriage was a matter of military tactics and territorial alliances. The rule of the church, that boys and girls should be married at the age of 15 and 12 respectively, was openly flouted¹. In England, especially in the upper classes, child marriages were common in Tudor times. Sometimes they were performed when the parties were only 4 or 5; they were, however, voidable before the time of consummation (Müller, p. 114). Child marriages were less common among the working classes. Though in actual practice, late marriages became common in England by 1850 A. D., still down to 1929, the minimum legal age of marriage continued to be 12 for girls and 14 for boys. In that year the Parliament raised it to 16 both in the cases of girls and boys, partly as a reaction to the introduction of the Sarda Bill in the Indian Legislature.