Buzz
Throughout history, dowries and bride prices have been central to various civilizations, serving as a form of security for women. These payments allowed a wife to reclaim her dowry if mistreated by her husband or his family, a practice that was unfortunately common.
While dowries have largely fallen out of favor in Western societies and are even illegal in some regions, the tradition of bride prices—where the bride's family is compensated—has seen its share of extraordinary examples. Here are ten of the most unusual cases.
10. 100 Philistine Foreskins - Bride: Saul's Daughter, Michal
David, renowned for defeating Goliath and later ruling as King of Israel, had quite the challenge to win his first wife’s hand. Michal, who was deeply in love with David, shared his affections, but her father, Saul, the king of Israel, was less than thrilled. Envious of David's rising fame, Saul sought to have him killed in battle and demanded the foreskins of 100 Philistines, Israel's long-time enemies.
David, eager to prove his strength and devotion, returned with double the required number of foreskins, intending to impress Saul with his determination. This gruesome task, though nonsexual, was meant to demonstrate David's prowess, as no man would willingly part with such a part of his body without meeting his death. The practice of taking body parts after a victorious battle as trophies has a deep-rooted history in war. True to his word, Saul reluctantly gave his consent for David to marry Michal.
9. The Bride’s Weight in Shillings - Bride: John Hull’s Daughter, Hannah
In the 17th century, John Hull, the founder of the first Massachusetts mint and its first overseer, created the silver pine tree shilling. Hull, who had a great attachment to coins, used them as part of the dowry when Samuel Sewall sought to marry his daughter, Hannah. Coins held great significance to Hull, and he incorporated them into the bride price.
After extensive discussions, it was agreed that the dowry would be based on Hull’s daughter’s weight in pine tree shillings. On the appointed day, Hannah was placed on a scale, and the amount of shillings equivalent to her weight was determined. While the exact weight was never disclosed, it is estimated that 45 kilograms (100 lb) of silver in Hull’s time would be worth around $1,600, suggesting that her weight was likely quite average, resulting in a fairly modest bride price.
8. A Mystical Pear - Bride: Margaret Giffard
A 13th-century Scottish tale tells of the Colstoun Pear, a magical gift picked by the wizard Sir Hugo de Giffard. As his daughter was about to marry into the de Broun family, she sought a meaningful present. Giffard informed the family that as long as the pear remained unharmed, it would ensure the safety and prosperity of their lineage.
The legend continued in 1692, when Lady Elizabeth Mackenzie, a descendant of Giffard, had a dream where she took a bite of the pear. Her servants, rushing to the silver casket where the pear was kept, found it untouched. But soon after, Mackenzie’s husband fell into severe financial trouble and sold the pear to his brother, Robert, who tragically drowned along with his two sons shortly afterward.
7. $65–130 Million (With a Catch) - Bride: Gigi Chao
Here’s a more recent story: Gigi Chao, a lesbian and the daughter of Chinese billionaire Cecil Chao, faced her father’s disapproval of her lifestyle. Unable to accept her sexual orientation, Cecil made an offer: Any man who could persuade Gigi to marry him and renounce her lesbianism would receive a dowry of $65 million. He later increased the offer to $130 million.
Despite a flood of proposals, Gigi stayed true to her partner, Sean Eav, declaring their marriage real and asking her father to treat Eav with respect. Eventually, Cecil retracted his offer, stating that if being a lesbian was his daughter’s choice, he would respect it, and the money would remain “in his pocket.”
6. The Bride’s Weight in Soap - Bride: M. Le Blanc’s Wife
In the early 20th century, a Frenchman named M. Le Blanc married a daughter of a wealthy Parisian hairdresser. Her father, a prosperous man, gave her two dowries: the first was a substantial sum of money, but the second was an unusual one—soap.
In an effort to ensure his future son-in-law was always well-supplied with soap, the bride’s father gave him his daughter’s weight in soap as part of the second dowry. With her weight recorded as a healthy 64 kilograms (140 lb), it can be assumed that the newlyweds were never in short supply of soap.
4. Much of Southwestern France - Bride: Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the most influential women in Europe during the 12th century, becoming both the queen consort of France and later of England. After her father’s death at the age of 15, Eleanor inherited the duchy of Aquitaine and became its duchess. Louis VI, nicknamed “the Fat,” became her guardian and immediately arranged for her to marry his son, who ascended the throne shortly after Louis’s death. Eleanor’s dowry included the vast and rich territory of Aquitaine.
After 15 years of marriage, filled with resentment (Eleanor claimed her husband was as lifeless as a monk), Eleanor and King Louis VII had their marriage annulled. Through clever negotiation, Eleanor retained her lands in exchange for allowing Louis to keep their children. Just two months later, she married Henry Plantagenet, bringing her lands as a dowry, which would later make him King of England less than two years after their marriage.
3. The Cities of Bombay and Tangier - Bride: Princess Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza, a 17th-century Portuguese princess, became the wife of Charles II of England, thus becoming queen consort. While she is often wrongly credited with introducing tea to Britain, she did play a significant role in popularizing the Portuguese tradition. However, her most substantial gift to England was the addition of two cities to British holdings upon her marriage: Bombay (now Mumbai) and Tangier.
Soon after the British took control of Tangier, tensions flared as Portuguese residents accused the British soldiers of looting and assault, leading to mass abandonment of the city. After years of siege by Ismail Ibn Sharif, the British eventually left Tangier as well. In contrast, Bombay remained under British rule for much longer, only changing hands after India gained independence in 1947.
2. $156 Million - Bride: Wu Ruibiao’s Daughter
Wu Ruibiao, a highly affluent Chinese magnate in the kitchen and tile industry, made headlines at the end of 2012 when his daughter got married. In what some critics have labeled as a self-promotional stunt, Wu gifted his daughter a staggering dowry worth over one billion yuan ($156.37 million). This generous sum included a variety of gifts, such as four boxes of gold, a Porsche, a Mercedes-Benz, and most notably, five million shares in Wu's company, Wanli, valued at an estimated $15 million.
The bride, who has chosen to remain unnamed, wed her childhood sweetheart after an extravagant eight-day wedding banquet. A Hong Kong newspaper humorously noted that marrying a girl from Jinjiang, a bustling entrepreneurial city on China's southern coast, is 'better than robbing a bank,' as the city's billionaires have been locked in a figurative competition to see who can offer the most lavish dowries.
1. The Greatest Qing Dynasty Sculpture - Bride: Guangxu Emperor’s Consort Jin
A masterfully crafted piece of art, the Jadeite Cabbage is exactly as its name suggests: a delicate sculpture of Chinese cabbage made from jadeite, one of the two minerals classified as jade gemstones. Likely created in the 19th century by an unknown artist, it is thought to have been given as a dowry gift to Consort Jin, symbolizing her purity. The association with purity is drawn from the white, unblemished body of the cabbage.
Additionally, the two insects—a katydid and a locust—are believed to serve as good luck symbols, representing 'the blessing of bearing many children.' This belief is based on the fact that female insects lay numerous eggs at once, with the locust capable of laying as many as 1,500 eggs. Currently displayed at Taiwan’s National Palace Museum, the Jadeite Cabbage has become one of its most popular artifacts, attracting large crowds whenever it is loaned out.
