The custom of dowries represented and integral component of marriage rituals during the 15th century. Dowry giving represented an important function in 15th century societies. Well-bred brides and wealthy grooms and their substantial diaries went hand-in-hand in the 15th century. However, dowry giving also represents a large transfer of wealth made to a daughter at the time of marriage. This transfer of wealth was often beneficial to the groom’s family, while females often gained social status by marrying a well-bred if not wealthy male. We see in two works covering dowry giving among other social customs of 15th century living, that dowries played a significant socio-political role. Wealthy and well-bred families often maintained their position and power in society through an elaborate and complex system of strategic inter-marriages. In both The Letters of the Rozmberk Sisters and Two Memoirs of Renaissance Florence we see the significance of diaries and how they often empowered the groom more than the bride.
In The Letters of the Rozmberk Sisters, we are treated to the letters of two sisters that provide extensive information about dowries and dowry giving. The letters of Perchta and Anezka demonstrate how dowries often worked in favor of the male and not the female. So, too, despite their being from the upper classes, Perchta is treated horrifically by her in-laws and her husband because of her father’s slow paying of her promised dowry. From the moment she is married Perchta appeals to her father in her letters to rescue her from the brutal treatment she receives at the hands of her husband and his family. She has to beg her mother-in-law for food, bed-linens, and has violent arguments with her husband and in-laws. She is even refused payment for her first born child because of the unpaid dowry. As she appeals to her father, “When you gave me in marriage, it would have been be
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