In England wives were sold: the savage customs of the 19th century Bashny.Net

And that sounds tempting. Tired of your wife — to the market it. Yes, right on market square. It should be noted that it was not some wild middle Ages, and in XVIII–XIX centuries! The website publishes interesting and slightly shocking facts about the practice of implementation of the perps.



Image source: Kulturologia.winglady the case of a sale of the wife described in the works of Thomas hardy "the Mayor of Casterbridge" where the main character sells his wife, and then the pangs of conscience lead him to death.



Each procedure for the sale looked the same: the husband brought the wife into the square, holding the leash attached to the neck. After that she climbed on stage and began the auction. Wife got offered a great price.



The Newspapers of that time was brightly lit such events. One of the earliest registered sales dated 1733. According to records, a Samuel Whitehouse sold his wife Mary Whitehouse, Thomas Griffiths, for one pound sterling. Mr Griffiths had to "take a woman with all its shortcomings." Another wife was put on sale with a starting price of one penny. It is not surprising that single farmers almost came to blows, wanting to get the woman. In the end, we agreed for five shillings and six pence.

No matter how strange it may sound, but most of the selling of wives was made by mutual consent. In most cases, the wife bought her own lover for a nominal fee. It has also happened that after the auction, all three went to a nearby tavern to celebrate a deal.



The most popular sales of the wives came in the period from 1780 to 1850. Until today, time has come to not less than 300 official confirmation of this procedure. And it all started with the fact that in England in 1753 passed the Law on marriage. Up to this point the marriages were not registered. Women were almost in complete subjection to husbands. Divorce was also incredibly costly. Selling wives in the square was the correct way to get rid of each other. The authorities did not approve of this practice, but they simply closed their eyes to it.

In 1830 there was another curious deed of sale. Husband began trading, but then stopped them, wanting to leave everything as it was. This wife whipped his cheeks with her apron and exclaimed, "I must be sold, I want change!"

The latest evidence about the sale of wives refers to 1913. The woman testified in court, Leeds, stated that her husband sold her to a colleague for one pound sterling.

via www.kulturologia.ru/blogs/051216/32496/