Wedding proposal
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When we think of proposals today, we
imagine a man on one knee proposing to a woman. But this has not always been
the case. In ancient days, men would make a marriage agreement with the father
of the bride. This is where the old tradition of a man asking the woman's
father for permission to marry his daughter. The custom of proposing on one
knee goes back to the days of knights when it was custom for a knight to bow on
one knee to his mistress as a show of servitude. At the end of betrothal in the
1800's, women took a much more active seat in love and marriage. At this time
it was acceptable for a woman of a high social stature to propose to a man.
This was the case of Queen Victoria who proposed to Prince Albert in 1839.
Lower class women also proposed, but this was less frequent. By Nicole Mazzeo Wrapwithus wedding favors |