Note 1172 — Chapter IX · THE PROTESTANT CONCEPTION OF MARRIAGE

The most famous case of enforcement of a betrothal, against an unwilling bride, is that of Dr. Stiel, 1553. The plaintiff's petition (Gesuch) in fifty-eight articles or specifications, setting forth in a most realistic way the whole courtship and the betrothal proceedings, is communicated by Friedberg, "Beiträge zur Geschichte des brand.-preuss. Eherechts," ZKR., VI, 72 ff. Actual force to compel the fulfilment of a betrothal was used only when it was followed by copula: ibid., 81. Friedberg traces the history of the subject to the reign of Frederick the Great, citing various cases. As a result he declares that in the sixteenth century betrothed persons could be forced to keep their engagement even when both were willing to dissolve it; while in the eighteenth century action depended upon the will of the interested parties: ibid., 87, 88. Compare Bidembach, De causis mat. tr., 35 ff.