Canonic Law (Catholic Church) established matrimonial majority at 12 for
girls and 14 for boys in pre-medieval times. In 1579 (Ordonnance de Blois)
in France, this was changed to 25 for women and 30 for men. This was for
commoner not nobles, the latter staying with the 12 and 14. These 25 and
30
years old simply meant that parents or legal guardians of estates (funny
that $$$ = church) had to give approval if the groom and or bride were
younger, which was the most of the cases. But they still had to be older
than 12 or 14.
Hence this is the situation that Nouvelle-France lived under. Nothing to
do
with the Civil age of majority or ***ual majority.
The 25 and 30 were changed to 21 by the Brits in 1782 to match British
Civil
majority, one of the very few changes made to local customs.
Regards
Michel Robert
<jankopavsic@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:dfc27600-bc7e-4127-8909-d48bcd9f66dc@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
31 jan, 23:41, Patrick Rock <NoRe...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> edsm...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
had this to say
> innews:k6bkj.550$2Z1.320@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> > Can some tell me what the age of majority was in Quebec (and its
> > predecessors) for both males and females down through the years from
> > 1608 to the present and in what years did it change?
> > Ed
>
> Regarding marriageable age, girls were considered of marriageable age at
> 12, while IIRC, boys still waited till 18 (at least that is the youngest
> I've seen). As far as other adult responsibilities (property holding,
> militia service, etc.), I don't know. I've seen records of young men
> joining the army at 16.
>
> As far as marriage ages, I have seen a few females married at 12, while
> few
> men married before 25, probably because of the need to have established
> themselves financially before taking a wife.
>
> With females it's harder to tell, because it's hard to know what rights
> they had in 17th-century France and French Canada. I have an ancestor,
> Anne Langlois, whose birth was recorded 31 August 1637 and who married
> Jean
> Pelletier on 9 November 1649 at the age of 12 years, two months, and
nine
> days. The groom was 22.
Since Charles V, majority of the king is 14. For other males and
females in the kingdom (including New France), majority was 21, up to
the end of XIX or begining of XX. Now it's 18 for both, and will be
probably 16 in few year...
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