The Legendarium
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maid or a maiden usually refers to a virgin man or woman. Maidens may be wedded and bedded; however, many husbands/wives will wait until the bride/groom is fifteen or sixteen before sleeping with them (or eighteen for elves). Very young mothers tend to have significantly higher rates of death in childbirth, as noted by the Sapiarchs of the Summerset Archipelago.

A guarantee of a woman's virginity is normally the presence of a maidenhead. Both men and women are generally expected to be virgins on their wedding night, more so for nobles. However, noblewomen are more likely to lose their maidenheads during horseback riding, it is said, and proof of their maidenhead during the wedding night⁠—a bloody sheet⁠—is therefore not often insisted upon. Nonetheless, men and women might refuse a bride if she is no longer chaste (or refuse a groom, though proving a groom's virginity is nearly impossible). Thus the loss of a noble's virginity can diminish their possibilities for marriage.

A price can be placed upon a girl's maidenhead. For example, a parent (particularly commoners) might say that their daughter's maidenhead could be bought for a given amount of coin. Other forms of payment can also be used at times.

A virgin man can also be referred to as a maiden or a man-maid on occasion.

In contrast to the rest of Tamriel, attitudes about sexuality are more relaxed in Hammerfell. Therefore it is not expected by the Redguards that a man or woman stays a maid until marriage.

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