Medieval Weddings Research Paper

In the Victorian era, marriage was not as romanticized or fairytale-like as depicted in many novels of the time. On the contrary, love actually played a very minor role in the majority of matrimonies that took place. An engagement was entered into as one would approach a business deal, and there were some generally accepted rules and guidelines to follow.

Women had great social pressure on them to marry. Young girls were often married by the age of 13 or 14 . It was socially unacceptable if women were not married by the age of 25 . Marriage was mostly for economic benefits, not romantic situations. A wedding, rather than a religious ceremony, was a civil contract that set the responsibilities and duties of husband and wife . Once married, they legally became one with their husbands. Married women had no control of their earnings, inheritance, property, and also could not appear in court as a witness nor vote . Their husbands, therefore, were responsible for all aspects of their wife including discipline .

Before the eighteenth century, marriage was far less complicated. Verbal consent and consumation constituted legal marriage: "once the knot was tied by such verbal exchanges it could not be

During modern weddings, the bride walks down the aisle with a bouquet in her hands similarly it was seen in the Elizabethan era. “Fresh flowers were central to the clothing. The bride would wear flowers in her hair and they would also adorn her gown,” (Alchin, Linda. “Elizabethan Wedding Customs.¨) On the wealthier side of society they would wear fancy clothing that had silver threading and jewelry on it. The color yellows meaning has gone through change during the course of time, today if someone were to wear yellow to a wedding it would not be looked down upon or make anyone upset. But during the Elizabethan Era the color yellow was a sign of mourning and was not to be worn at weddings, (Alchin, Linda. “Elizabethan Wedding Customs.¨) In modern days, most brides wear the traditional white dress during their wedding, but this tradition was not around during the Elizabethan era. “Instead she would wear her best gown and kirtle, or even a new gown if money was available,” (Alchin, Linda. “Elizabethan Marriages and Weddings.”) A few clothing traditions have stood throughout time and are still used in modern

In the Renaissance period, marriage was far different and much longer process than it is today. Particularly in the Elizabethan era, marriages were frequently arranged so that both families involved would benefit. Marriages would be arranged to bring prestige, honour and wealth to the family. For the upper class, marriage rarely involved love. Courting outside of one’s class was strictly forbidden and punishable by death in some circumstances. Marriage followed a strict set of protocols that signify maturity and coming into one’s own. In this time, dowries often played a large part in the decision to marry. A dowry, is the custom in which involves an interchange of cash, jewels, foods, estates between the father

The ages to get married could be as young as 14 for the girls and 12 for the boys (Elizabethan Wedding Customs” 1). This was not unusual for girls or boys to be married this young, but the age of consent was 21(Elizabethan Wedding Customs” 1). The ceremony was held at a local church and conducted by a minister(“Elizabethan Marriages and Weddings”). During the ceremony, everyone would stand because there were no chairs(Elizabethan Wedding Customs” 1). This could also be a theory of why people stand when the bride enters the room. As far as the dress code went for the wedding, the couple would just wear their best clothes(“Elizabethan Wedding Customs” 1). The iconic white wedding did not come along until Queen Victoria in the the 1840’s(A Day to Remember: Wedding Ceremony and Cultural Change). There were no legal documents in this era that could confirm the marriage, but there was a certain process called the Marriage Bond. This bond acted as a contract, where it was security and proof for the minister that the wedding was lawful. The first step of the bond was the “Crying of Banns” (“Elizabethan Marriages and Wedding” 1). This phase just announced the couple’s intentions to marry. The “Crying of Banns” was then followed by a statement declaring that there was no pre-contract(“Elizabethan Marriages and Wedding” 1). After the long ceremony, it was now time to celebrate the new married

The main difference between marriages now and in the past is that in this case, the marriages were arranged, and there was no choice in who you married ("Elizabethan Wedding Customs" 1).

Weddings are one of the important circumstance around of the world. Every county has their owns ways of wedding ceremonies. Although, in past the wedding ceremonies were just simply, but as time pass by weddings were improved. However, In Afghanistan, wedding ceremonies are the same as it was in the older generation. Wedding culture is passed from old generation to the new generation while nothing is being changed. Meanwhile in America, wedding ceremonies are being changed and getting more futuristic. As a result, there are three differences between Afghan and American wedding ceremonies such as their Cloths, Culture, and food.

While Europeans in the Elizabethan Era were over the top and elaborate in many ways, marriage was not one of them. Regarded as a rite of passage, marriage lacked the festivities and passion to make it any more than what it was: a social requirement. From the extensive marriage contract process to the obvious pressure from their parents, youth hardly considered marriage lightly. After all, choosing the wrong spouse, or even choosing to not marry at all, could negatively impact one’s future severely. For the majority of the population, marriage was an expectation for means of improvement, not for love. Forget finding oneself infatuated with someone then marrying them or feeling like a goddess on your wedding day, because marriage was common, anticipated and carried out by reasons of sensibility. Even a bride’s wedding dress was chosen for practicality and eventually turned into part of her everyday wardrobe.

“Just as today a woman’s wedding was one of the most important days of her life” (William Shakespeare info). During the Elizabethan Era, most marriages were arranged, and some couples would be introduced to each other on their wedding day itself! (William Shakespeare info) Many of times marriages were done so that both families could “benefit” in some way, such as status or wealth ( Linda Alchin). Even though there are some differences from then to now, weddings today have some of the same aspects as Elizabethan weddings did, because a wedding is still one of the biggest days of a person’s life. There were many customs, preparations, and important ceremonies done during these times, and some of them are

Family and domesticity were the most important and respected values in the Sixteenth Century in Italy. Marriages were arranged. They were made for convenience, and not for love. There were four parts to a Renaissance wedding in Italy: the impalmamento, the sponsalia, the matrimonium, and the nozze.

“A rite of passage is a public ceremony that marks, recognizes, celebrates or is believed to actually cause a change in a person and her or his status, usually brought about or related to increasing age” (Peoples, Bailey). Almost every culture has rituals that signal a change in life. Marriage is one of the most common rites of passage in any culture. Weddings and marriage ceremonies are clear transitions from adolescence to adulthood. “Some form of marriage is known to have existed in all human societies. Its traditional function in most of these societies has been to stabilize sexual relations and to unite a man and a woman in order to provide care for the young. In addition, marriage has linked and allowed for economic exchanges between different kin groups and has served as the primary coming of age ritual for women” (Nelson).

Betrothals were more frequent among the upper class in order to keep the family bloodline as pristine as possible. “...family histories from twelfth-century France are very conscious of genealogy, but less so of the individuality of the women who are bearers of that genealogy” (Karras). Marriage among peasants did not have these types of restraints to compete with which allowed the spouses to sometimes select their partners. This also meant for a happier, healthier marriage and less chances for an annulment or divorce.

In the late 1800’s through early 1900’s women and men were did not “tie the knot” like the women and men do in today’s day. In today’s world, women and men get married because they have many things in common, they are in love with each other, and they choose to get married to one another. In many stories written back then, readers can expect to read about how marriages were arranged and how many people were not having the wedded bliss marriage proclaims today.

Elizabethan marriages were a very large ordeal involving not only the town but the families of both parties. The large ordeal was not only unnecessary but also very time consuming and stressful. Marriages, birth, and deaths were all the three cycles of life that were dealt with in the church (Evans 6-7). Marriages that were done by law and not church were not registered as there were no witnesses to the betrothal. Church marriages were common and proper as they would be recorded by the pastor (Harrison 1640). Fathers could get rid of their daughters by marrying them off or if he didn’t, when the daughter came of age, the parents would arrange a marriage for the young teenaged girl to a much older man (Evans 6-7). At fourteen, a child had been responsible for all their actions long ago and was now ripe with puberty and at thirty, a man could be financially stable enough to provide for a bride and any children she might bring. All the girl’s possessions would go to the man so wealthy women never remained single for long. If problems in the marriage arose, nothing could be done because the rules of the church stated that marriage lasted until the death of each party. Not only were marriages done without the age of both parties in mind, but marriages were not for love. Families married to carry on the family surname and increase possessions and