Marriage, Manners and Mobility in Early Modern Venice

Throughout history, marriage has been used as a method of creating and strengthening bonds between society''s ruling elites. Nowhere is this more apparent than in early modern Venice, where members of the urban patrician class looked to marital alliances to help maintain their position and social distinction in a fluid society. This book explores these social relationships and the ways in which they were mediated through the links created by marriage. It looks at the changing composition of the Venetian ruling elite during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, examining the complex relationship between the patrician class and the rest of society.

Throughout history, marriage has been used as a method of creating and strengthening bonds between elites and the societies over which they ruled. Nowhere is this more apparent than in early modern Venice, where members of the patriciate looked to marital alliances with outsider brides to help maintain their position and social distinction in a fluid society. This book explores the parameters of upward social mobility, contemporary evaluations of social status and moral behaviour, and the place of marriage and concubinage within patrician society. Drawing heavily on the records of the Avogaria di Comun, which had the task of examining the social backgrounds and moral reputations of women from outside the patriciate who wished to marry patricians, this study provides a fascinating reconstruction of Venetian society as it was seen by individuals at every level.