Report on meeting held on 7th September 2021
It was a great pleasure to see so many members attend on 7th September to the first meeting of Swanley History Group since the Coronavirus lockdowns . We enjoyed an illustrated presentation on “Tying The Knot – The Lore of Christian Marriage” by Mark Lewis, retired lecturer and also a member of The Folklore Society. His latest book ‘Days and Rites – Popular Customs of The Church’ is available from Amazon.
Little romance was involved in marriages in earlier times as marriage was a legal contract to do with improving the position of the families regarding status, property and land, finance and allegiances The bride was little more that an object to be “given away” by her father - which is still symbolically done in weddings today. During the Medieval period marriages were performed in the church porch to be open for all to see and only the blessing took place inside the church. Calling the Banns enabled legal objections to the match to be made.
Forms of marriage varied and some exist today. Until the Marriage Act of 1753, couples wanting to marry quickly, no questions asked, could have a Fleet Marriage, conducted by a Fleet Parson held at the Fleet debtors’ prison. Marriages for such couples could also be performed at Gretna Green by a blacksmith – called an anvil priest. Couples could also ‘Jump the Broom’ or if you were in Lindisfarne leap over The Petting Stone. The most alarming for the bride was a Smock Wedding. The bride, usually a widow, was almost naked at her wedding, demonstrating very visually “I bring nothing to this marriage”!
In earlier centuries many parts of the marriage ceremony were designed to protect the couple from evil spirits - including the ringing of bells to scare the devil away and being blessed in bed by a bishop if you were high status enough! The bride dressed in her finest gown which might be her ‘Sunday Best’. Dark colours and blue, associated with The Virgin Mary, were popular – never green at this colour could attract unwanted wood spirits and elves. The bridal veil was helpful as a shield from spells and the evil eye. Bridesmaids accompanied brides from Anglo-Saxon times and their main role, being dressed in similar gowns, was to confuse the devil. Further protection was found in the herbs, garlic and stalks of grain crops in bouquets, as well as marigolds known as an aphrodisiac and lumps of sugar in gloves. From Roman times brides were carried over the threshold to protect them from demons in the doorway lintels.
As in recent Royal weddings, church entrance arches were decorated with flowers. The forerunner of the ‘Best Man’ was a bodyguard – it was common in Anglo-Saxon times for the bride to be captured and her relatives might not be too happy about it! Ancient traditions continue such as exchanging rings, worn on the fourth finger on the left hand said to be linked by the vein of love to the heart - but probably not ancestral swords.
Christina Tyler
It was a great pleasure to see so many members attend on 7th September to the first meeting of Swanley History Group since the Coronavirus lockdowns . We enjoyed an illustrated presentation on “Tying The Knot – The Lore of Christian Marriage” by Mark Lewis, retired lecturer and also a member of The Folklore Society. His latest book ‘Days and Rites – Popular Customs of The Church’ is available from Amazon.
Little romance was involved in marriages in earlier times as marriage was a legal contract to do with improving the position of the families regarding status, property and land, finance and allegiances The bride was little more that an object to be “given away” by her father - which is still symbolically done in weddings today. During the Medieval period marriages were performed in the church porch to be open for all to see and only the blessing took place inside the church. Calling the Banns enabled legal objections to the match to be made.
Forms of marriage varied and some exist today. Until the Marriage Act of 1753, couples wanting to marry quickly, no questions asked, could have a Fleet Marriage, conducted by a Fleet Parson held at the Fleet debtors’ prison. Marriages for such couples could also be performed at Gretna Green by a blacksmith – called an anvil priest. Couples could also ‘Jump the Broom’ or if you were in Lindisfarne leap over The Petting Stone. The most alarming for the bride was a Smock Wedding. The bride, usually a widow, was almost naked at her wedding, demonstrating very visually “I bring nothing to this marriage”!
In earlier centuries many parts of the marriage ceremony were designed to protect the couple from evil spirits - including the ringing of bells to scare the devil away and being blessed in bed by a bishop if you were high status enough! The bride dressed in her finest gown which might be her ‘Sunday Best’. Dark colours and blue, associated with The Virgin Mary, were popular – never green at this colour could attract unwanted wood spirits and elves. The bridal veil was helpful as a shield from spells and the evil eye. Bridesmaids accompanied brides from Anglo-Saxon times and their main role, being dressed in similar gowns, was to confuse the devil. Further protection was found in the herbs, garlic and stalks of grain crops in bouquets, as well as marigolds known as an aphrodisiac and lumps of sugar in gloves. From Roman times brides were carried over the threshold to protect them from demons in the doorway lintels.
As in recent Royal weddings, church entrance arches were decorated with flowers. The forerunner of the ‘Best Man’ was a bodyguard – it was common in Anglo-Saxon times for the bride to be captured and her relatives might not be too happy about it! Ancient traditions continue such as exchanging rings, worn on the fourth finger on the left hand said to be linked by the vein of love to the heart - but probably not ancestral swords.
Christina Tyler