Marrying by the Numbers: Marriage Patterns of Aristocratic British Women, 1485-2000

Abstract

This project is a study of the marriage patterns of aristocratic British women over the more than five-century period between 1485 and 2000. It employs a two-fold evidentiary base, combining a demographic analysis with a more traditional analysis of primary sources such as letters, journals, and diaries. Together, the statistical and the written evidence provide a window into the intersection of marriage and rank among elite British women between the sixteenth and the twentieth centuries. As a result of this research, this dissertation argues that there was a remarkable level of consistency in rank identity among the British aristocracy despite great changes in government, religion, and society.