Katonai házassági perek Mária Terézia korában
Military Marriage Lawsuits in the Age of Maria Theresa

Summary/Abstract: Our paper explores military marriages that came to a conflict in the age of Maria Theresa. As can be seen in military and ecclesiastical court records, the plaintiffs were often maids employed by military officers who eventually declined to marry them most probably because of their inferior status. Women abused by their husbands are also recurring participants in the lawsuits. Most of the military and ecclesiastical court cases were filed because of a proposal or because the woman became pregnant – but pregnancy was much easier to prove than the offer of marriage. Besides the ghost of a marriage of unequal rank material factors were also common causes for the lawsuits at the ecclesiastical courts. The – mostly male – losers of the cases had opportunity for settlement if they could make an agreement with the plaintiff. In these cases, the party in a tight corner could escape the legal consequences in exchange for a considerable sum.

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