Ger-marriage-msg - 4/2/99 Period Germanic marriage customs. NOTE: See also the files: p-marriage-msg, p-customs-msg, religion-msg, p-sex-msg, birth-control-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ [Submitted by: Hank Harwell ] From: "JoAnn Abbott" To: Date: Tue, 9 Mar 1999 08:18:00 -0700 Subject: [PerRel] Re: German Marriage customs I have been digging through books I have not looked at in a long time.... The "mund" marriage; this was the most usual mode of marriage. The bridegroom was responsible for concluding the contract, while the bride was just an object of the contract between the groom and her family. Her consent carried no legal weight, although not infrequently her wishes were taken into consideration. The contract between the bridegroom and the brides family, for which the term "Verlobung" (betrothal) is used in later folk laws, committed the brides family to hand the woman over to the bridegroom and gave him marital authority (mund) over her. The bridegroom was committed to take the bride home and set up a marital community with her. At the betrothal the groom had to pay a "bride-price" or at least a down payment to the brides family. This bride price later became the dowery, and was later given by the bride herself, and served as the foundation for her widows subsistance, which was not provided for in the law of succession. Breaking of the betrothal had legal consequences. Infidelity of the bride during the betrothal period was considered as adultery. If the bridegroom or bride married another person, a fine was payable. The wedding ceremony gave the groom authority over the bride.. It took place in ceremonial form, the bride being handed over to the husband by symbolic actions such as setting her on his knee and other rites customary at an adoption. The marriage was consumated by the bride being led to the grooms home, which was followed by the marriage repast and by the couples repairing to the marriage bed in the presence of the relatives (cohabitation). The leading home and cohabitation made the bride a wife with all that involved with respect to the family, house and personal status. On the morning following the first night, the husband handed the wife the morning gift in recognition of her status as mistress of the house; the morning gift mostly comprised cattle, a harnessed horse and weapons. In later times, it often consisted of other objects, which again became part of her widows fund. There was also marriage by capture, by consent and by unilateral disposition, if anyone is interested? Lady JoAnna S.T. [Submitted by: Hank Harwell ] From: Laura C Minnick To: perrel at egroups.com Date: Wed, 10 Mar 1999 02:51:43 -0800 (PST) Subject: [PerRel] Re: German Marriage customs I just wanted to point out that the Germanic marriage customs are by and large pre-Christian, or in the post-conversion period where the Church was still negotiating some concord with local customs. It is interesting to see some of the carry-over in customs. Dowries are pretty universal, though in most of the cases in Western Europe, the dowry goes right to the groom's family- most likely not refundable if the marriage sours. It is a different payment, called the _dower_ (or _dos_ in much of feudal France) that is set aside for widowhood. This payment is made by the groom (or his parents) and while he lives he may manage the properties and monies for his wife, but he may not sell them or otherwise alienate them from her. And her name is on the title. It is considered separate from a bbride-price, which goes to he father and is not her. Interestingly, the _morgengaube_ is still as custom in some places (one might argue that the honeymoon serves this purpose in the modern world- Laura), and is generally held as the groom's acknowledgement that the bride was sufficiently virginal to suit him. Quaint custom. Pace, Father Abelard - Laura C. Minnick University of Oregon Department of English [Submitted by: Hank Harwell ] From: Janna G Spanne To: perrel at egroups.com Date: Wed, 10 Mar 1999 17:33:37 +0200 Subject: [PerRel] Re: German Marriage customs > Interestingly, the _morgengaube_ is still as custom in some places >(one might argue that the honeymoon serves this purpose in the modern >world- Laura), and is generally held as the groom's acknowledgement that >the bride was sufficiently virginal to suit him. Quaint custom. Sweden is one such place. In the modern world, of course, it has nothing to do with virginity: couples here frequently marry when they are about to have their second child and figure that being unmarried parents is too much of a bureaucratic hassle. Basically, the "morning gift" today is a romantic (and often quite expensive) way of saying "I'm glad I'm married to you", and, of course, a nice marketing stunt for the jewelers. /Janna (since Catrin has no concept of 20th century Sweden) [Submitted by: Hank Harwell ] From: "JoAnn Abbott" To: Date: Wed, 10 Mar 1999 17:28:01 -0700 Subject: [PerRel] German Marriage customs Marriage By Capture The match-making effect of the capture of women can be explained as follows: the folk laws made no distinction between capture and abduction. According to the Lex Salica (486 A.D.to 506 A.D. estimated as being written, the law of the Salian Franks), capture was any removal of a girl from the power of her guardian (holder of authority) against his will, without any importance being attached to the will of the captured girl. Capture resulted in initiation of a feud by the womans family. The folk laws imposed a fine on the abductor, but initially did not require the return of the woman to her family; this could only be impelled by the feud. If avenging action was not taken or was unsuccessful, the "marital community" persisted because it was not the capture, but the manifestly established conjugal community which created the marriage. In the case of marriage by capture or abduction, the wife lost her right to inherit from relatives. The husband had no "mund" (Latin: manus) over her unless he acquired it subsequently from the holder of authority. The marriage resulting from abduction was more or less a marriage by consent. Marriage By Consent The marriage by consent (Friedlehe) was based on the free will and consent of the man and woman. In this case, in contrast to concubinage, the marital community was established by publicly leading the bride home and co-habitation. There was no wedding ceremony, because the woman was not under the mans control, nor was a bride-price paid. But on the morning following the first night, the wife received the morning gift. The wife's legal position relative to her husband was much stronger than in the "mund" marriage. For instance, she had the right to take unilateral action for divorce. Marriage by consent appears to have been chosen primarily by women of rank who did not want to place themselves under the control of a man who was possibly of lower rank, and when a man "married into" the house of the womans father. This marriage by consent permitted the practice of polygyny by the nobles, since in addition to a mund marriage the man could have any number of "free consorts" (Friedel). A marriage by consent could be transformed into a mund marriage if the hsband subsequntly paid the mund-dowery. This form of marriage by consent resembles the "morganatic marriage" (:left-handed marriage") which made it possible well up into the 18th century to conclude marriages with a woman of different rank without her being raised to the husbands rank or acquiring the right to inherit from the husband. Whew! Marriage by unilateral disposition and more commentaries later, gotta cool my fingers! JoAnna of the Singing Threads (S.T., get it?) PS- the teasers were because no one seemed to react to my missive about blasphemy laws, so I wanted to be sure. [Submitted by: Hank Harwell ] From: "JoAnn Abbott" To: Date: Wed, 10 Mar 1999 22:09:19 -0700 Subject: [PerRel] Re: German Marriage customs And now the continuing saga of How Grandma Got Married..... Unilateral Disposition! (sounds exciting, no?) Marriage by unilateral disposition was made possible by the fact that the freeman was given control over the unfree woman by the law of property. (See Laura, I found some more by myself!) This gave the lord control over the conjugal relationships among his bondmen and bondwomen, which at least in the Frankish era was regarded as marriage. Moreover, the freeman could also take his own bondwoman, who was subject to his authority also in sexual respects, as his consort. This gave rise to concubinage. Originally it was certainly not a marriage, but where there was suitable possibility of termination it could take on marriage-like features. Such marriages were based on the command of the man. There was an earlier belief that the mund marriage was the only one considered legitimate by the scholarly community, but this has been recently disproved. However, the mund marriage was the most important legally. The husband had full control over the wife. He also had the rights of punishment, including death, repudiation or sale in the case of genuine need. Only the wife was committed to monogamy and marital fidelity and generally she also had no dispositive authority over the children, had no legal capacity, and the husband took her property under his control, administered it and enjoyed the benefits. He was also liable for any offence committed by his wife. The rights that were vested in the husband, above all the right of polygamy, were challenges to the church to intervene. In point of fact, the church should have recognized marriage by consent, which required the consent of the woman to marriage, as the only legitimate type of marriage. But the church's degradation of marriage by consent to concubinage and fornication had its origin in the structure of this form of marriage, which was in contradiction to the Christian notion of marriage. Christ had raised monogamous marriage to the dignity of a sacrament, i.e., an unbreakable bond between a man and a woman in a physical and spiritual community. Marriage by consent, on the other hand, favored polygamy because in addition to his mund marriage the husband could have any number of "free consorts" (like Charles the Great and Himiltrude). Also the ease with which it could be dissolved, the frequent abstention in Frankish times from public conclusion of a marriage, and the equal status of man and wife brought about by marriage by consent were contrary to the Holy Scriptures according to the then prevailing view. All this explains the influence exerted by the church on the recognition of the mund marriage as the only "right marriage" Impediments to marriage There were few impediments to marriage, among these were sexual immaturity, peacelessness which made it impossible to take the bride home in public; marriage among very close relatives (with a persons own issue), and polygamy on the part of the woman. Over and above this, there were a number of countermeasures to hinder marriages regarded as contraventions of the law or a disturbance of community order. The latter included marriage of the wife or bride to another during his lifetime, marriage of a free woman and an unfree man (only the freeman could take his bondwoman as consort), and occasionally marriage between members of different tribes. In Frankish times there was a law introduced into the secular law that forbade marriage of a woman without her consent. (I guess it wasn't too bad after a while) Marriage over time gradually became more of a mutual desire, and women were given the right of self-betrothal. Gradually the position of the holder of authority was taken over by a chosen guardian, the "Trauvormund", who gave the couple to each other. He became the one who asked if both parties consented. He could be either a layman or a member of the clergy. In the 12th century church regulations forbade marriage by a layman and made participation by a priest and posting of banns obligatory. The introduction of the consent of the woman to marriage and the lack of any public form of concluding marriage however, then resulted in declarations of consent to marriage made informally and without witnesses being regarded as valid, which led to considerable abuses despite threat of temporal and spiritual punishment. The Tridentine Council of 1562, instigated by the Emperor Charles made the validity of a marriage dependant on its publication by the church. Braking a betrothal could only be done by act of council, and fines had to be paid. The couple had to wed within 3 months of the third posting of the banns, and it had to be done in the church. The couple was to remain celibate before the marriage as well, and there are documents that show fines being paid for having a child too soon after marriage (seven months or less). Tomorrow- straw paiats for women and straw vests for men- find out what they mean! Lady JoAnna of the Singing Threads [Submitted by: Hank Harwell ] From: "JoAnn Abbott" To: Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 14:27:47 -0700 Subject: [PerRel] Re: German Marriage customs Shame, shame, shame! It is the time of the thirty years war, and depite the repeated reading of the marriage laws from the pulpit of the cathedral, and the encouragement of the local priest to follow these laws and not fall into licentiousness and fornication, you have been CAUGHT!. If you are a servent whose master has failed to provide seperate sleeping areas for his male and female servants, he has to pay a hefty fine. But what are we going to do with you? First , the local tipstaff or nightwatchman who was charged to seek out all dark corners which might be a source of sin drags you before the council with your lover. The permissive maiden then had to stand before the church door wearing straw plaits on her head to show her shame. Her seducer has to come to service on three successive Sundays wearing a straw coat. Furthermore, the seducer has to push his beloved through the streets of the town in a wheelbarrow while the citizens throw garbage. Next, accompanied by the jeers of the watchers, you have to plow a certain area of farmland. Couples who had not practiced abstinence invariably landed in prison. If they were willing to marry, the additional church penance was milder. Instead of the traditional myrtle wreath, the bride had to wear a wreath of straw, or, if the child was already born, it had to be held in her arms during the ceremony. If the wedding was held during imprisonment, the tipstaff accompanied the couple to the church. If the bride had been convicted of several sexual offences, the wedding took place in an inn or in prison. If the couple wanted to avoid the shame of "being coupled at an inn", the wedding could take place in the church, but only as a "Whore's wedding". Then, after the prison sentence had been served, two tipstaff "wives" had to escort the harlot, adorned with a straw wreath and straw plaits, to the marriage altar, not through the bridal gate but through the side entrance (black gate). Under the Prussian code of 1640, brides who unlawfully wore the bridal wreath had their plaits cut off and nailed to the pillory Ain't true love grand? Lady JoAnna S.T. [Submitted by: Hank Harwell ] From: Maryann Olson To: perrel at egroups.com Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1999 15:54:36 -0800 Subject: [PerRel] Re: German Marriage customs Greetings until all from Lady Gertraud von Wuerzburg. These discussions of German marriage customs and marriage customs in general have been very interesting to me. May I add some information I found some years back. Source: Erika Uitz, _The Legend of Good Women: Medieval Women in Towns & Cities_, 1988, pages 14-15 During the early Middle Ages, marriage was recognized only for the nobility and freemen: Raubehe: Robber Marriage or elopement if the bride cooperated. Friedelehe: No contract. The husband was not the guardian of the woman. Voluntary for both partners. Dissolvable. No dowry. Worked well for traveling merchants. Muntehe: Marriage contract. Allowed wives of nobility to be entrusted with ruling when the men were at war or carrying out official duties. Husband assumed guardianship of wife and administration of her immobile property. Wife received the dowry. Morning gift after first night together was mandatory. Common Law: Governed dependent peasant populations. Required consent from the landowner/lord to get married. If from different land areas, arrangements had to be made with both lords so loss of service was not experienced by either -- and disposition of children had to be determined. Uitz comments that early tribal laws excluded free women from public office, as well as from representing themselves or appearing in court, and administering their property. Munt: Guardianship, including protection, representation, and authority over. Muntwalt: The guardian, either father or husband, or the closest male relative in the line assuming guardianship. Represented guardian in court, administered and disposed of property, determined punishments, give in marriage, and could even sell. Uitz discusses the life of these women, especially within the towns and the changes when "Stadtluft macht frei," town air makes free. Mary Ann (Gertraud) Edited by Mark S. Harris Ger-marriage-msg Page 7 of 7