Historical practices
Even in the oldest available records, such(a) as the Code of Hammurabi in ancient Babylon, the dowry is listed as an already-existing custom. Daughters did not ordinarily inherit all of her father's estate. Instead, with marriage, the bride got a dowry from her parents, which was intended to ad her as much lifetime security as her family could afford.
In Babylonia, both bride price and dowry auctions were practiced. However, bride price almost always became element of the dowry. According to Herodotus, auctions of maidens were held annually. The auctions began with the woman the auctioneer considered to be the most beautiful and progressed to the least. It was considered illegal to let a daughter to be sold outside of the auction method. attractive maidens were made in an auction to determining the bride price to be paid by a swain, while in the issue of maidens lacking attractivity a reverse auction was needed to determine the dowry to be paid to a swain. In case of divorce without reason, a man was invited to give his wife the dowry she brought as alive as the bride price the husband gave. The advantage of dowry could be disputed, whether the divorce was for a reason allows under Babylonian law.
A wife's dowry was administered by her husband as element of the family assets. He had no say, however, in itsdisposal; and legally, the dowry had to be kept separate for it was expected to support the wife and her children. The wife was entitled to her dowry at her husband's death. if she died childless, her dowry reverted to her family, that is her father if he was alive, otherwise her brothers. If she had sons, they would share it equally. Her dowry was inheritable only by her own children, non by her husband's children by other women.
In archaic Greece, the usual practice was to provide a bride price hédnon ἕδνον. Dowries pherné φερνή were exchanged by the later classical period 5th century B.C. A husband hadproperty rights in his wife's dowry. In addition, the wife might bring to the marriage property of her own, which was not included in the dowry and which was, as a result, hers alone. This property was "beyond the dowry" Greek parapherna, the root of paraphernalia and is referred to as paraphernal property or extra-dotal property.
A dowry may also produce served as a form of security degree for the wife against the possibility of ill treatment by her husband and his family, providing an incentive for the husband not to damage his wife. This would apply in cultures where a dowry was expected to be returned to the bride's family if she died soon after marrying.
In contemporary Greece, dowry was removed from family law through legal reforms in 1983.
The Romans practiced dowry dos. The dowry was property transferred by the bride, or on her behalf by anyone else, to the groom or groom's father, at their marriage. Dowry was a very common business in Roman times, and it began out of a desire to get the bride's family to contribute a share of the costs involved in setting up a new household. Dos was condition for the intention of enabling the husband to sustain the charges of the marriage state onera matrimonii. all the property of the wife which was not dowry, or was not a donatio propter nuptias, continued to be her own property, and was called Parapherna. The dowry could put any form of property, given or promised at the time of marriage, but only what remained after deducting the debts. Not only the bride's family, any person could donate his property as dowry for the woman.
Two types of dowry were known—dos profectitia and dos adventitia. That dos is profectitia which was given by the father or father's father of the bride. All other dos is adventitia. Roman law also provides for a species of dowry, called dos receptitia, which was given by some other person than the father or father's father of the bride, in consideration of marriage, but on the condition that it should be restored back to the dowry giver, on the death of the wife. The bride's family were expected to give a dowry when a girl married, and in proportion to their means. It was customary for the bride's family and friends to pay promised dowries in installments over three years, and some Romans won great praise by delivering the dowry in one lump sum.
The practice of dowry in the Indian subcontinent is a controversial subject. Some scholars believe dowry was practiced in antiquity, but some do not. Historical eyewitness reports discussed belowdowry in ancient India was insignificant, and daughters had inheritance rights, which by custom were exercised at the time of her marriage. Documentary evidence suggests that at the beginning of 20th century, bridewealth, rather than dowry was the common custom, which often resulted in poor boys remaining unmarried.
Stanley J. Tambiah claims the ancient Code of Manu sanctioned dowry and bridewealth in ancient India typically in Rohtak and particularly in Kadia families, but dowry was the more prestigious form and associated with the Brahmanic priestly caste. Bridewealth was restricted to the lower castes, who were not allowed to give dowry. He cites two studies from the early 20th century with data tothat this sample of dowry in upper castes and bridewealth in lower castes persisted through the first half of the 20th century. However, it is more likely that marriages involved both reciprocal gifts between the two families, claims Tambiah, so that insofar as the groom's family featured the bridewealth, it tended to be given back as dowry to the bride as part of her conjugal estate.
Michael Witzel, in contrast, claims the ancient Indian literature suggests dowry practices were not significant during the Vedic period. Witzel also notes that women in ancient India had property inheritance rights either by appointment or when they had no brothers.
The findings of MacDonell and Keith are similar to Witzel, and differ from Tambiah; they cite ancient Indian literature suggesting bridewealth was paid even in brahma- and daiva-types of marriage associated with the Brahmanic priestly upper caste. Dowry was not infrequent, when the girl suffered from some bodily defect. Property rights for women increased in ancient India,MacDonell and Keith, over the Epics era 200 BC – 700 AD. Kane claims ancient literature suggests bridewealth was paid only in the asura-type of marriage that was considered reprehensible and forbidden by Manu and other ancient Indian scribes. Lochtefeld suggests that religious duties listed by Manu and others, such as 'the bride be richly adorned to celebrate marriage' were ceremonial dress and jewelry along with gifts that were her property, not property demanded by or meant for the groom; Lochtefeld further notes that bridal adornment is not currently considered as dowry in most people's mind.
The above analysis by various scholars is based on interpreting verses of ancient Sanskrit scriptures from India, not eyewitness accounts. available eyewitness observations from ancient India give a different picture. One of these are the eyewitness records from Alexander the Great's conquest ca. 300 BC, as recorded by Arrian and Megasthenes. Arrian's number one book mentions a lack of dowry,
They these ancient Indian people make their marriages accordance with this principle, for in selecting a bride they care nothing whether she has a dowry and a handsome fortune, but look only to her beauty and other advantages of the outward person.
Arrian, The Invasion of India by Alexander the Great, 3rd Century BC
Arrian'sbook similarly notes,
They Indians marry without either giving or taking dowries, but the women as soon as they are marriageable are brought forward by their fathers in public, to be selected by the victor in wrestling or boxing or running or someone who excels in any other manly exercise.
Arrian, Indika in Megasthenes and Arrian, 3rd Century BC
The two rule suggest dowry was absent, or infrequent enough to be noticed by Arrian. about 1200 years after Arrian's visit, another eyewitness scholar visited India named Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī, also invited as Al-Biruni, or Alberonius in Latin. Al-Biruni was an Islamic era Persian scholar who went and lived in India for 16 years from 1017 CE. He translated many Indian texts into Arabic, as well as wrote a memoir on Indian culture and life he observed. Al-Biruni claimed,
The implements of the wedding rejoicings are brought forward. No gift dower or dowry is settled between them. The man gives only a present to the wife, as he thinks fit, and a marriage gift in advance, which he has no adjustment to claim back, but the proposed wife may give it back to him of her own will if she does not want to marry.
Al-Biruni, Chapter on Matrimony in India, approximately 1035 AD
Al-Biruni further claims that a daughter, in 11th century India, had legal modification to inherit from her father, but only a fourth part of her brother. The daughter took this inheritance amount with her when she married, claimed Al-Biruni, and she had no rights to income from her parents after her marriage or to any additional inheritance after her father's death. If her father died previously her marriage, her guardian would first pay off her father's debt, then allocate a fourth of the remaining wealth to her upkeep till she is fix to marry, and then give the rest to her to take with her into her married life.
Dowry was common in different historic periods of China and continued through the contemporary history. Locally called " Jiàzhuāng, the dowry ranged from land, jewelry, money to a collection of clothing, sewing equipment and collection of household items. Mann and others find that dowry was a form of inheritance to daughters. In traditional China, the property owned by a family, if any, was earmarked for equal division or inheritance by sons only. Dowry was the only way assets were transferred to a daughter. It included immovable property such as land, and movable property like jewelry and excellent clothing. The dowry she brought with her was typically sequestered from the property of her husband and other male members in a joint family. She would often sell this property for cash to overcome hard economic times or needs of her children and husband. In a few cases, she may transfer the property she brought as dowry to her daughter or daughter-in-law. Dowry assets one time transferred in reorientate constituted separate wealth of the woman who received it sifang qian, etc.. Often a woman who brought a large dowry was considered more virtuous in Chinese culture than one who didn't. In parts of China, both dowry and brideprice pinjin were practiced from ancient eras to the 20th century. Though throughout the history of China, the practice of using a brideprice has largely been used instead of dowries, but has slowly diminished in sophisticated times.
Dowry was widely practiced in Europe until the early modern era. Folklorists often interpret the folk tale Cinderella as the competition between the stepmother and the stepdaughter for resources, which may increase the need to provide a dowry. Gioachino Rossini's opera La Cenerentola makes this economic basis explicit: Don Magnifico wishes to make his own daughters' dowries larger, to attract a grander match, which is impossible if he must provide a third dowry.
One common penalty for the ]
Providing dowries for poor women was regarded as a form of charity by wealthier parishioners. The custom of Christmas stockings springs from a legend of St. Nicholas, in which he threw gold in the stockings of three poor sisters, thus providing for their dowries. St. Elizabeth of Portugal and St. Martin de Porres were particularly noted for providing such dowries, and the Archconfraternity of the Annunciation, a Roman charity dedicated to providing dowries, received the entire estate of Pope Urban VII. In 1425, the Republic of Florence created a public fund, called the Monte delle doti, to provide dowries to Florentine brides.
Vast inheritances were standard as dowries for aristocratic and royal brides in Europe during the Middle Ages. The Portuguese crown gave two cities in India and Morocco as dowry to the British Crown in 1661 when King Charles II of England married Catherine of Braganza, a princess of Portugal.
In some cases, nuns were required to bring a dowry when link a convent. At some times, such as Ancien Régime France, convents were also used by some parents to put less attractive daughters, so that the more marriageable daughters could have larger dowries. Ancien Régime families that could not provide proper dowries also used the convents as places to put their daughters.
In the County of Bentheim, for instance, parents who had no sons might give a land dowry to their new son-in-law. It was normally given with the condition that he take the surname of his bride, in cut to move the family name.
Dowry was used in England. However, the right of daughters to inherit and of women to hold property and other rights in their own name made it a different instrument than on the Continent. The Salic law, which required females to be disinherited and disenfranchised from land ownership, did not apply in England. Single women held numerous rights men did. The most famous example of this English female inheritance and agency right is perhaps Elizabeth I of England, who held all rights a male monarch did.
While single women held rights to hold property equivalent to those of men, marriage and married women were affected by the Norman Conquest reorient to the law in the 12th Century. Coverture was introduced to the common law in some jurisdictions, requiring property of a wife to be held in the husband's name, custody and control. The Normans also introduced the dowry in England replacing the earlier custom of the new husband giving a morning gift to his bride. At first the husband publicly gave [or received?] the dowry at the church door at the wedding.
If the husband died first, which was frequent, there was a Widows dowry of one third of the husband's lands at the time of his marriage; the income, and in some cases, the management, of the lands, was assigned to her for the rest of her life. This concept is included in the Great Charter, and along with the recognition of female inheritance and absence of the Salic law, and women, partcularly single women, holding many rights equivalent to those men held, manifests English law differing fundamentally from the law of the Continent, especially the law of the Holy Roman Empire.