Bedding ceremony
The bedding ceremony refers to the wedding custom of putting the newlywed couple together in the marital bed in front of numerous witnesses, usually family, friends, and neighbors, thereby completing the marriage.
The purpose of the ritual was to establish the
Traditions
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Brauysegen_im_Bett.gif/220px-Brauysegen_im_Bett.gif)
Bedding rituals have been practised in various European cultures, the ceremony differing from place to place. The people putting the newlyweds in bed have usually included their family, friends and wider community.
In England, the ceremony usually began with a priest
In the 16th century, in what is now Germany, the bedding ceremony was performed to the sound of
In Scandinavia, it was the most distinguished wedding guest who led the bride to bed in a festive procession.[nb 2] After putting them in bed, the guests offered dishes to the newlyweds and quickly ate with them before leaving them alone. Due to the ritual's importance, specially decorated wedding beds were sometimes borrowed from friends, family or neighbours. The bedding eventually became merely symbolic, with the bride's parents covering the newlyweds with a blanket and then uncovering them.[5]
Legal consequences
The original purpose of the bedding ceremony was to establish the
In medieval Scandinavia, the bedding ceremony was of great legal importance. Laws in many
In the case of royal marriages, the ceremony took on added significance.
In popular culture
The bedding ritual has featured in popular culture for centuries. It has been hinted at in The Penny Wedding, an 1818 painting by David Wilkie, and possibly also in the homonymous 1819 painting by Alexander Carse.
A bedding ceremony takes place in the film The Wedding Banquet.
Numerous songs also make references to the ceremony.[8]
The Bride lap in to the Bed,
Ann the Bridgroom ged till her
The Fidler crap [crept] in to the mids[t]
Ann they H—dled altogether.[12]— The broadside ballad narrator on the marriage ceremony, in "A Dialogue between ald John M'Clatchy and Young Willie Ha"
In the television series
See also
Notes
- Mayor of Stockholm led the bride c. 1416. In 1528, the Swedish king Gustav Vasa performed the role at the wedding of his trusted servant.[5]
References
- ^ a b Bailey & Barclay 2017, p. 44.
- ^ a b Bailey & Barclay 2017, p. 45.
- ^ Monger 2004, p. 23.
- ^ Monger 2004, p. 24.
- ^ a b c d Korpiola 2009, p. 61.
- ^ Stone 1992, p. 22.
- ^ Stone 1992, p. 163.
- ^ a b Bailey & Barclay 2017, p. 47.
- ^ Bailey & Barclay 2017, p. 48.
- ^ Korpiola 2009, p. 60.
- ^ Korpiola 2009, p. 62.
- ^ Bailey & Barclay 2017, p. 55.
- ^ Lucas 2015.
Bibliography
- Bailey, Merridee; Barclay, Katie (2017). Emotion, Ritual and Power in Europe, 1200–1920: Family, State and Church. Springer. ISBN 978-3319441856.
- Lucas, Katie M. (1 April 2015). "Day 11: What Is the Bedding Ceremony?". Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- Korpiola, Mia (2009). Between Betrothal and Bedding: Marriage Formation in Sweden 1200–1600. BRILL. ISBN 978-9004173293.
- Monger, George (2004). Marriage Customs of the World: From Henna to Honeymoons. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1576079872.
- ISBN 0198202539.