>> I would expect most
>> Heortlings to be married between the ages of 15 and 20. If
>> only to keep the number of unmarried mothers to a reasonable level.
>
>What's supposed to be wrong with unmarried mothers? Remember children in
>Heortling society are economically useful at a very early age
>(labour-intensive and low-skill culture!), not an economic burden like
>they are to us. The clan of an unmarried mother get to keep the
>children! And her value in marriage negotiations goes up once she's
>proved she's fertile. Assuming she wants to follow the standard female
>career path, being an unmarried mother is a definite advantage.
The other thing to remember about unmarried mothers is that in some
RW societies couples didn't marry until the female was pregnant (and
I'm not talking about a shotgun wedding here).
It also wasn't a particular stigma to be unmarried and pregnant - but
it was to be unmarried after the birth...
TTFN
Maddy