The commanders’ spouses. The marriages of the Utrecht Teutonic Knights, 1640–1940

In 1640 the Bailiwick of Utrecht abolished the obligation of celibacy, as a continuation of the Protestantisation process that had started 25 years earlier. After this decision, half of the sitting members married. Most of the knights who joined after 1640 were married. The paper analyses data collected on 221 marriages over three centuries. Most of these marriages fit the Western European Marriage Pattern: entered into by mature people, generally of their own free will, but in good consultation with the family (marriage by consent). The age difference between the partners was usually not very... Mehr ...