Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s1.82

c7.s1.82

² Compare Macauliffe, I, 18-19. Nanak was 14 when he was married. The Hindu girl was not to be below eight years on marriage. For Muslim parallel; compare Huart, 161, for ancient Persian tradition of marrying boys at fifteen. Compare D.R., 93, how Prince Khizr Khan and Dewalrani were married when they were 10 and 8 respectively. Compare also A., 180 for early marriages in Muslim families under Firuz Tughluq. Compare F.F., 135, where the legal compendium lays down the age for marrying girls at 9. Compare for interesting mediaeval English parallels, Salzmann, 254: ‘It was not unusual for parents to arrange marriages for their children while they were still infants; even the actual marriage ceremony was sometimes performed when the bride and bridegroom were so young that they had to be carried to the church and could not repeat all the words of the service’.