For the past
few days I have been reading a book called Winter
Sea by Susanna Kearsley. The book is a historical fiction novel based in
Scotland. It is a great read, but more importantly it brought up some important
topics I wanted to research more. One is called “handfasting”.
I found a
few websites that I listed below about this topic. As a general overview it is
a marriage done without the use of a clergyman. It could be used for two people
wishing to make a commitment to each other, but perhaps didn’t want to wait the
requisite months before an officer of the church would visit the area.
One of the
reasons handfasting is used could be for couples who want to have a trial marriage
of sorts. The wedding lasts for a year and a day and after that the couple can
choose if they wish to continue in marriage or take different paths. How is
that for commitment? It might have even
been used if one or both of the individuals were not religious and didn’t
desire a church marriage.
The thing
that troubles me most about marriages of this sort is based around the fact
that they could be performed without any legal documentation. It is kind of
like a common law marriage today.
It can be
frustrating when you think of genealogical research. Now you have to determine
if that person you thought was single was in fact married. Perhaps there were not as many illegitimate children
as we are lead to believe if handfasting were used. It is something to think
about. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Further Research:
http://www.celticjewelry.com/content/celtic-weddings/a-brief-history-of-handfasting-in-celtic-marriage/
