Transgresión y legalidad en el cortejo del siglo XVIII: el secuestro de mujeres en la diócesis de Zaragoza

Abstract

The article analyses the conflict generated in 18th Century Spanish families based on the impeachment of «Secuestro». Secuestro was a legal procedure depending on the Church Court that allowed young single women to be extracted from their parent’s home. This extraction was executed when the family forbade the marriage without a fair argument. In the bishopric of Zaragoza, this procedure was accompanied by the privilege of Manifestación, depending on the Aragonian old laws. The Manifestación allowed the same extraction, although the results were sometimes very different. Those procedures became an important resource for those young couples who rebelled against the father’s authority, which was deeply respected but not boundless. Along this article, I bring the steps of these legal procedures. Besides, I analyse which emotional impact had on families and communities the egress of a single girl for the paternal authority.