[Malte] Ages of marriage in Malta

[joshthom]

I have recently been searching for a birth date for my 6x great-grandmother Teresa Camilleri (born Vella).

The marriage records say that she married Lorenzo Camilleri on 14/02/1776.

I have searched the baptism archives and have only found one match, a Teresa Vella baptised on 07/11/1761.

If these are the same person, that means Teresa was married when she was 14 years old. I am wondering if this occurred in 18th century Malta, or whether they are different people.

Thanks for all the help.

Regards,

Joshua Sultana

[NSV]

14 years old, could be possible.

Usually, it's between 20-25 years old.
But can happen earlier.

N.

[marielucecl]

Hello,

The age of marriage in France at the same time was also given by the Catholic Church, so I suppose it was not very different at Malta : for a girl it was possible to marry  with 13 years, of course with parents' consent.

Have a nice day,
Marie-Luce

[Gander Georges]

L'article, en français, d'Aurore VERIE, est intéressant à lire sur le site d'Olivier :
http://ogalea.chez.com/MariageMalte.htm

Deepl permettra de traduire :
https://www.deepl.com/Translator

[Gander Georges]

Complements for Joshua :

I join 2 pages of the Book of Frans CIAPPARA which deals with the age at marriage.
Marriages before the age of 15 are rare but not exceptional.
Always check the mother's age when having her first child.
For very young wives, the first child may be born 4 or 5 years after marriage.

[Muriel MSIDA]

Between 15 and 20 y.o., the girls needed to have a confirmation from their parents to marry a young man of 21. He is the one who needed to be an adult...
I've never seen a marriage or a mixed marriage in Malta before 15 (which is already VERY young...).
Sometimes people give the baptism date as the birth date, as they don't have the real birth date. So, she could have been really 15 for her marriage, if she was born ca. 2 months before her baptism.

I hope it makes sense to you