When did women have to marry in Elizabethan England?

Most women got married in their twenties. In 'The Tudor Housewife' Alison sim writes:

"It is of course difficult to be sure of statistics at this time, but studies suggest that in Elizabethan and Stuart England, the average age for women at their first marriage was twenty-six, and for men somewhere between twenty-seven and twenty-nine. As many as one in six people were still unmarried in their forties, meaning that they probably never married. Poorer people had to save up before they could marry, so that they could afford somewhere to lvie and the basics they needed to set up hiome with. In hard times, like those at the end of the sixteenth century when there was a run of bad harvests, this could be impossible. For this reason there was often a boom in marriages in prosperous years, such as the years 1598-1605, but a significant drop in bad years, such as 1594-97.'

Marriages among the upper classes were sometimes arranged between families, and a marriage might soemtimes take place when the girl was in her early teens, but such youhtful marriage was a rarity and not typical. Among the common people, it was more usual for young people to choose their own marriage partners, though parental consent was considered important, and even in the case of arranged marriages, the young people concerned were supposed to consent freely to the union.

In 'Elizabethan England' Alison Plowden writes:

'Even if the concept of romantic love had little place in the normal run of Elizabethan marriage plans, it was generally accepted tha tthere should be 'liking' and a reasonable amount of compatability between an engaged couple. An unhappy, discontented wife or husband could quickly poison not only the spouse's life but that of the in-laws as well. The quarrels of an unhappy couple wuld inevitably react on their respective families, sides would be taken, and scandal and bad feeling quickly spread through the small, tightly knit community.

There were love matches too of course. No one had any objection to love, providing the price was right, and many youthful romances flourished with parental approval.

The initial form of contract, known as de futuro, as the promises were made in the future tense, was not necessarily binding. It could, in fact, be little more than a conditional statement of intent to arrange a marriage at some future date. if the situation changed, some impediment was discovered, orthe young people concerned objected, then the agreement could be terminated by mutual consent,much like a modern engagement, unless of course, the couple had lived together. if all went well and the financial arrangements, dowry, and marriage settlements had all been agreed on, the next stage would be the de praesenti bethrothal, with the vows exchanged in the present tense. "I, N., do willingly promise to marry then, N. if god will, and i live, whensoever our parents shall think good and meet, till which time, i take thee for my only betrothed wife, and thereto plight thee my troth." This promise was sealed with a handclasp and an exchange of rings.

A bethrothal in verbis de praesenti was binding and indissoluble, and any attempt to marry someone else after entering into a de praesenti contract was illegal. Even after a marriage had been completed by the church, it could still be invalidated if evidence of a previous de praesenti betrothal were produced. for thsi reason,a wise bride and her parents would insist on plenty of publicity. Secret, or clandestine marriages were frowned on by the church and by society.'

Well, it was legal for girls to marry at the age of 12 provided they had the parental consent. Hope this helps!

it depends what you mean by 'outside the home'. the fact is that most people in Elizabethan England were country people, living by farming, and the woman's role on the farm was vital to the successful running of the farm. she took care of the poultry and the dairy, did the milking, made butter and cheese, and sold her surplus chickens, geese, eggs, butter and cheese at market. She brewed the beee that all but the very poorest drank instead of water. She might also supplement the family income by spinning wool and flax into thread to sell to weavers. Spinning was such a common way for women to earn a living in the past that 'spinster' became the common term for an unmarried woman. She would make soap from wood ash and lye, and candles from rushes and animal fat (beeswax candles were expensive). She had to have a wide variety of skills. Single women often worked as servants until they married, and some were apprenticed to other trades. The textile trade employed many women. For instance, the records of the poor for the city of Norwich in 1580 mentiones a 14 year old girl who was supporting her entire family by knitting 'great hosen' (stockings). Sik weaving was a luxury trade that employed many women, Women who were the wives of tradesmen and artisans were often active in the family business, and assited their husbands at whatever his craft or trade might be. Widows often ran businesses after their husbands died. The wives and widows of guild members were usually eligible to join the same guilds as their husbands. Some women followed seperate trades from their husbands. Some women were midwives, and they occupied positions of respect and importance in the local community, because childbirth was regarded as an exclusively female affair, a woman normally gave birth at home surrounded by her female friends and relatives, with the midwife presiding. A mdiwife had to be a woman of good character, because she was licensed by the local bishop to baptise babies if she thought them unlikely to live long enough to have a church baptism. Upper class women were odten espected to manage large estates in the absence of their husbands, and needed a good knowledge of estate business. they were responsible for overseeing the production of foodstuffs and clothing fof the household, and for buying in anything that could not be made or grown on the estate. Women of all classes were expected to be able to make home remedies for illness, and treat a wide variety of illnesses. Manuals on household management are full of recipes for such remedies. Tehy grew herbs in their herb gardens and knew the uses of all the different herbs and what illnesses they were good for. She would also use herbs, spices etc for making perfume and scented waters for washing in. Most women led busy and productive lives in Elizabethan England. It is true that the rights of married women were restricted, and their husbands had authority over them, but that did not mean they did not do useful things or have productive lives. the fact is that most people in Elizabethan England had restricted rights, very few men had any say in political life for example, the number of people who could vote wass tiny, and continued to be until the 19th century. he concept of 'women's rights' probably would never have occured to Elizabeth. likewise, women were not admitted to universities, or to the learned professions, but only a very small number of men would have had the opportunity to go to university, or to enter the learned professions, opportunities were more restricted for most people in those days. Elizabeth occupied a unique position, she became Queen regnant at a time when there had only been one short-lived woman's reign, and her prioroity was keeping England stable and keep foreign powers at bay. it is unlikely that she ever gave a thought to the position of women in society.