betrothing

This betrothing of children is now the custom of the age, in knightly as well as in princely families.

From The Childhood of King Erik Menved An Historical Romance by Bernhard Severin Ingemann

The custom of betrothing children in their infancy is commonly practised here, in which respect these people differ from the natives of Greenland, where it is comparatively rare.

From Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, Volume 2 by Sir William Edward Parry

It was not impossibly a scheme for betrothing King Pedro to the infant Princess of the Asturias, thereby uniting the two Crowns, and bringing about the dethronement of Queen Isabella.

From The Letters of Queen Victoria : A Selection from Her Majesty's Correspondence between the Years 1837 and 1861 Volume 3, 1854-1861 by Arthur Christopher Benson

It was a strange betrothing, and little said.

From The Firebrand by S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett

The young Lords of Douglas came out looking brave and handsome as bridegrooms on a day of betrothing.

From The Black Douglas by Frank Richards