Talk:Reunion 2004, Robert Ward, Thomas Whitney of Westminster
I question the concept of age regarding women in marriage. It is a fact that women of wealth and good birth in the middle ages were frequently married off at the tender age of fifteen, giving birth at fifteen and sixteen. When assuming the age of the Whitney women, it is presumed that they were twenty on several counts, when mentioning the possible age of Robert's mother, and so on. Misconceptons of age could dramatically alter age and dates when attempting to prove direct lineage. Just food for thought...
While brides sometimes were very young, they could not bear children until puberty. That occurred later then than it does now, for various reasons. If you have documented cases of women bearing children at 15 or 16 in the sixteenth century, I'd like to know about them. I am not aware of any.
- Robert - Talk to me 11:38, 1 January 2009 (CST)
