The second season of Netflix’s much-beloved period drama Bridgerton has left fans swooning as a new summer of courtship grips the Ton.
The new series follows the oldest Bridgerton sibling, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), as he sets out to find himself an ideal partnership.
He thinks he has found the one in the new diamond of the season – Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran) – but soon finds himself falling for her older sister, Kate (Simone Ashley).
That isn’t the only romance Lady Whistledown is gossiping about across the Ton, as Eloise Bridgerton is forced to make her debut and follow in her sister’s footsteps, and Lady Portia desperately tries to secure her family’s future.
There’s often the mention of a dowry when it comes to the discussion of marriage in the early 1800s world of Bridgerton.
But what exactly is a dowry anyway?
What is a dowry?
A dowry – or dowries – are a set of assets that a bride’s family gifts to a groom when they get married.
They have taken many forms across history, from money to material goods, real estate or plots of land.
While rarely heard of these days, a dowry served many purposes – firstly, it gives the newlywed couple the money and means to help build a home together.
Second, the loss of a dowry gave the bride some protection if her husband were to become abusive and/or the marriage ends in a divorce.
They also served as a kind of enticement to potential grooms, as a larger dowry could make a family’s daughter seem more marriageable, as is often shown to be the case in Bridgerton (even if it seems a rather un-romantic reason to get married).