Various Factors. In the absence of records of births and marriages, it is difficult to ascertain the usual age of marriage in the early Middle Ages. Economic structure and social rank influenced when men and women would marry, as did values concerning education, procreation, honor, and modesty—all of which differed markedly according to social rank and geographic region. For example, Mediterranean attitudes about marriage were different from those of northern Europe.

Rural Marriage Ages. Some of the estate surveys from the ninth century suggest that among the rural peasantry the bride and groom were quite close in age. For example, the Saint Germain-des-Pres survey (circa 809-839) listed 86 widowers and 133 widows. If there had been a large age gap at marriage, there should have been a significantly greater number of widows than widowers in the community. The evidence of...