Medieval Weddings: Giving Birth To Many Wedding Traditions
Medieval weddings are said to be the source of many wedding traditions that we follow today. For instance, the exchange of rings before and during the wedding ceremony has been the focal point of medieval weddings in the past. In the past, the prospective bride ad groom is betrothed through the exchange of rings in front of the priest. This exchange of rings is equivalent to our engagement at present where the man asks the woman to become his wife by giving her an engagement ring.
What’s the difference between the engagements in the medieval era compared to our modern times? The difference between the medieval practices of engagement is that groom is asked to give a betrothal deposit in terms of money or properties to the family of the women that he is going to marry. Should the man decide to bolt out of the commitment to marry the woman, he has to pay a penalty. The penalty can reach up to four times the amount of money or properties given as betrothal deposit. In our modern times, we no longer practice the betrothal deposit and both parties can now dump each other unceremoniously before the wedding if they want to.
The second time that couples exchange rings is during the medieval wedding ceremony itself. Medieval weddings actually set the tradition of exchanging rings during the wedding ceremony. Until the present, the exchange of rings during the wedding ceremony is still considered as one of the highlights of the wedding. In fact, for many sectors, the exchange of rings is the center of the whole wedding ceremony that without it, the wedding is said to be incomplete.
The Maid Of Honor
Another traditional practice that we got from medieval weddings is the presence of the main of honor. The practice of having a main of honor during weddings started in England during the medieval times. In the past, the maid of honor took charge of seeing to the needs of the bride one week before the wedding. She was also in charge of preparing the bouquet and the wedding decorations. Since the task of administering to the needs of the bride and making sure that the wedding decorations are in place, the maid of honor usually has host bridesmaids to help her to the task. At present, the maid of honor still looks after the bride’s needs but since many brides already hire wedding planners to organize everything, the role of the maid of honor is no longer as laborious as before.
