In this context was struck a few weeks ago by an article on the front page
of the Telegraph which noted in passing that until 1929 the legal age for
marriage (though not sex) was 12. This may indicate that 17th century norms
persisted longer than we think. The article concerned a defence against a
charge of rape on the basis that the defendant had genuinely thought the
victim to be more than 16 at the time: as far as I recall, the writer noted
that the 1929 act included a clause covering men who committed statutory
rape because of their wives having concealed their age at marriage.
Martin Rose
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