Dowry encompasses the money, goods, and property that one spouse brings to another just before or at the time of marriage. More often than not, the bride is the one who brings a dowry. In some cultures, such as the Hindu, the custom continues even long after marriage. Legend mentions dowry customs at the time of King Arthur in England. The famed Round Table of Arthur came to him as dowry. His father-in-law, King Leodegran of Carmelide, gave it to him when Arthur married his daughter Guinevere.

Dowry historically has been common among nobilities. Pyrrhus (319–272 BCE), king of Hellenistic Epirus (now Ípiros, a coastal region in northwestern Greece and southern Albania), was given Corcyra (now Kérkira, an island in the Ionian Sea) and Leucas (now ...

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