Doncellas, hermanas y casaderas. La estrategia matrimonial en el Almagro quijotesco.

Abstract

Historiography has shown that, in the rural world of Castile during the Modern Age, the constitution of a new family entailed multiple connotations. This article analyses the structure of the estates on the basis of the dowry payment letters of two families from Almagro in the early 7th century. The aim is to observe whether, through these marriage contracts, the bride and groom and their families projected a desire for social and economic advancement, or, on the contrary, they only constituted the basic goods for the beginning of a new family group.