31. Violante Visconti’s Dowry Included A Lavish Wedding
In the 1300s, when Violante Visconti and Lionel, Duke of Clarence, married, the bride’s father needed to pay for the wedding. Galeazzo II Visconti decided that his daughter’s wedding is a part of her dowry, making Violante’s dowry all the more lavish in history.
When Lionel traveled to Italy for his wedding, he brought over 1200 horses and 450 knights. It took 52 ships for everyone to visit. Over 10,000 people came to the wedding, and Galeazzo made sure everyone ate the 18-course banquet. Some of the gifts Lionel received included shields, lances and steel hats, and silver gilded belts.
