Child Marriage refers to marriage of a child aged under 18 years
In accordance to Article 1 of the Convention on the Right of the Child, child marriage disproportionately affects girls who were married at a younger age due to society, culture and financial reasons.
The table below lists actual historical records of under-age Child Marriages, as defined by modern day standards.
2 YEARS OLD
Chester, England 1564
A 3-year old named John was married to a 2-year old named Jane in the Bishop's Court in Chester, England
East Anglia, England 1600
A contemporary, Philip Stubbes, wrote that infants still in swaddling clothes were married.
England 1677
2 year old John married Margaret Weston, 26-year-old (widow)
WEST, John, of Drayton, in Hayles, co. Salop, gent., bachelor, about 2 (gone), and Mrs. Margaret Weston, of St. Bride, London, widow, about 26 – at St. Bride aforesaid, or in the Temple chapel, London. 2 March, 1677 (or 8). V." (page 1439)
3 YEARS OLD
Isaac & Rebecca
3-year old Rebecca married off to Isaac, Biblical prophet of 40-years-old
Jewish Oral Law (Mishnah M.5:4)
A girl three years and one day old is betrothed by intercourse. And if a Levir has had intercourse with her, he has acquired her. And they are laible on her account because of the law [Prohibiting intercourse with] a married woman. And she imparts uncleanness to him who has intercourse with her [when she is menstruating] to convey uncleanness to the lower as to the upper layer. [If] she was married to a priest, she eats heave offering. [If] one of those who are unfit [for marriage] has intercourse with her, he has rendered her unfit to marry into priesthood. [If] one of all those who are forbidden in the Torah to have intercourse with her, he is put to death on her account, but she is free of responsibility.
The Comparative Hermeneutics of Rabbinic Judaism: Seder Tohorot. Tohorot through Uqsin
The Jewish Oral Torah by Jacob Neusner, American academic scholar of Judaism
A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities. 15. Niddah. Jacob Neusner p.83
4 YEARS OLD
England 1624
4-year old George and a widow (no name given)
"BRIGHAM, George, gent., of [destroyed], co. Herts, BACHELOR, AGED -4-, father dead, and Winifred Markham, of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, WIDOW of Robert Markham, gent., deceased – at St. Giles-in-the-Fields. 15 July, 1624. B." (page 183)
5 YEARS OLD
Margaret Wade Labarge
Margaret, Professor of History: "It needs to be remembered that many Medieval widows were not old, Important heiresses were often married between the ages of 5 and 10 and might find themselves widowed while still in their teens"
6 YEARS OLD
Anne de Mowbray 1477
Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk was 6-years old child bride when she married to Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York was 4-years old
7 YEARS OLD
Christian Church, 12th Century
Historically within the Christian Catholic Church in medieval Europe, prior to the 1917 Code of Canon Law, allowed marriages of 7-year olds
Europe, 12th Century
Gratian, the influential founder of Canon law said consent was "meaningful" if the children were aged 7-years or more
King Richard II 1400
King Richard married a 7-year old
Margaret Beaufort 1450
Margaret, mother of King Henry VII was aged 7-years old when she married 7-year old John de la Pole by the arrangement John's father
Europe 1689
In Medieval and early modern European societies, the age of marriage remained low, with documented cases of brides as young as 7-years, although marriages were typically not consummated until the girl reached puberty
Europe 1850
Marriage brides as young as 7-years old in 19th Century Europe
USA 1889
Delaware maintained its age of consent at seven years, having lowered it from 10 in 1871
Dinah, Isaac's Daughter
Daughter of Biblical prophet Isaac, Dinah at 7-years-old married to Shechem
8 YEARS OLD
Virginia, USA
In the parish of Middlesex County, Virginia, out of a record of ninety-eight girls, three probably married at 8-years of age
9 YEARS OLD
Muhammad 623
In 623 AD, it is reported that Muhammad married 9-year old Aisha
Margaret-Maria 1195
Margaret-Maria of Hungary married Roman Empreror, Isaac II Angelus at the age of 9-years old
England 1600
English Law: The most influential legal text was that of Sir Edward Coke, made it clear that the marriage of girls under 12-years was normal. The age at which a wife was eligible for a share of her husband's estate was 9-years old even though her husband be only 4-years old
England 1675
9-year-old Dorthy Panton to 18-year-old William
STANLEY, William, of Chelsea, Middlesex, esq., bachelor, about 18, his father's consent and Mrs. Dorthy Panton, spinster, about 9 years, daughter of Thomas Panton, of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, who alleges – at St. Martin-in-the-Fields. 1 May, 1675. V. (page 1277)
USA 1689
Bullough reports the case in 1689 of a 9-year old bride in Virginia USA. Mary Hathaway was married to William Williams
10 YEARS OLD
Saint Augustine of Hippo 350 AD
Augustine ended his relationship with his lover in order to prepare himself to marry a 10-year old heiress
England 1500-1800
The age of consent in England from 16-19th century was 10-years old
Europe 1791
Portugal, Spain, Denmark and the Swiss cantons mirrored the French Napoleonic code and set the minimum age of consent at 10-years old
Spain 1822
In 1822, Spain set consent at "puberty age" (10-years old) and increased it to 12-years old in 1870. Up until 2015, the consent age was 13-years old
Western Countries 1850
10-years of age were typically regarded as acceptable minimum ages for sexual consent in Western countries
USA 1880
10-years was age of consent in USA (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming)
Russia 1880
10-years was age of consent in Russia
USA 1895
Up until 1895, Delaware, USA had fixed the age of consent at 7-years old. Although, most US states set the minimum at 10-years old
USA 1962
In 1962, the American Law Institute recommended the legal age of consent to sex be dropped in every US State to 10-years old
11 YEARS OLD
Mary Magdalene
Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ was pregnant between 11 and 14-years old after she married 99-year old Joseph
England 1690
11-year-old Anne Richardson to 30-year-old Thomas
"SWYNBORNE, Thomas, of Gray's Inn, esq., bachelor, 30, and Anne Richardson, of Christchurch, London, spinster, about 11, daughter of William Richardson, of same, esq., who consents – at St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, or Christchurch, London. 12 May, 1690. F." (page 1308)
France 1832
Under the Napoleonic code the age of consent was set in 1832 at 11-years old
12 YEARS OLD
Irene Ducaena 1138
Irene Ducaena, wife of Roman Emperor, Alexius I Comnenus, was 12-years old at her marriage
England 1275
English law was interpreted by jurist Sir Edward Coke as meaning the age of marriage at the time was 12 years of age
Joan of France 1476
Joan of France, Duchess of Berry married at age 12-years old
World Survey 1900
Magnus Hirschfeld, a historian surveyed the age of consent in fifty countries (mostly in Europe and the Americas), he found the age of consent was 12-years old in fifteen countries
England 1929
Before the Age of Marriage Act 1929, Church of England ministers could marry 12-year old child brides according to English Law
Canada 1890
The Canadian government proposed a bill to raise the age of consent from 12 to 14
Netherlands 2002
The Netherlands operated what was in effect an age of consent of 12. The relevant law, passed in November 1990, permitted sexual intercourse for young people 12 and up
King David
Biblical prophet aged 70-years old married Abishag, 12-year old
Europe 1500
A small number of Italian and German states set the minimum age for sexual intercourse for girls at 12-years old
13 YEARS OLD
Romeo & Juliet
Shakespeare's Juliet was 13-years when she fell in love with Romeo. This was a normal age and not considered an exceptional circumstance
14 YEARS OLD
Spain 2015
Spain raised the minimum age for marriage from 14-years old to 16
Russia 1998
Russia lowered the age of consent from 16 to 14
CREDIT
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_marriage
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/opinion/americas-child-marriage-problem.html
https://discover-the-truth.com/2016/10/20/londons-child-marriages-1500-1800s/
35-child-marriage
| Author: Guest
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Updated:
04 Sep 2026
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