Unless the historians have changed their minds since
the early 90's, one major governing factor on
population growth in western Europe was what they
brilliantly called the European population model. The
basic idea was that premarital sex was rare and that
woemn (and their fathers) refused offers of marriage
from anyone who did not have some visible means of
supporting a family. Typically, this meant that the
son had to have already inherited, or be the last son
at home supporting an aged mother, or have achieved at
least journeyman status in an urban guild, or the
like. This obviously delayed fertility when people
were relatively healthy and accelerated it when they
were not (like after the plagues). Children without
marriage prospects (fifth sons and the like) also had
the option of joining the church.
This doesn't seem particularly applicable to the
Orlanthi. It is a little similar to Praxians, where
most women require that men prove their worth through
the acquisition of beasts. I don't really know enough
about anyone else to say.
Chris Lemens
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