Medieval Betrothal Customs

A Medieval engagement included a huge feast of celebration, after the reading of the banns. Photo courtesy Pexels.   Medieval betrothal customs began with a series of negotiations between the groom's family and the bride's family. Although the law declared that a young lady had the choice to refuse to marry, social and family pressure often overruled this law. The remainder of the laws governing marriage involved guidelines for dowries and other financial matters.  

Medieval Betrothal Law

In Medieval England, the law of the land established several guidelines for engagement and marriage. First of all, the law required that the bride and groom reach the age of consent. At that time, girls had to be 12 years old, and boys had to be 14 years old. Secondly, the law established that a young lady enter marriage of her own accord. The law forbade anyone from forcing a woman to marry. As I mentioned before, however, this law could be overruled by family in some cases. In addition, both families offered a dowry. Plus, the groom promised to provide a portion of his wages to his bride should he die before her, until she remarried. Families used marriage to better their station in life, which was permissible under the law. However, in such arranged marriages the families excluded the bride from the negotiations. Again, she was allowed the right to refuse the arrangement if she so chose. Once both families agreed to the terms, the bride and groom were officially betrothed (engaged). Next, the families announced the intended marriage.  

Publishing the Banns

The first order of business following an official betrothal was the publishing of the banns (bans). Publishing the bans involved posting a notice in a public place of the intended marriage for a specified period of time. As the church played a central role in Medieval culture, typically the bans were posted on the outside of the church door. However, in some regions the banns were announced three weeks in a row at the beginning of a church service. The purpose of the banns was to ensure that anyone who might have a prior claim to the bride, or who might have any other reason to object to the wedding, would have time to make their claim of dissent. Once this period of waiting passed, the families threw a big feast for the bride and groom. At the end of the feast, the two became husband and wife. ~Angela Magnotti Andrews