SC - question about period wededings

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/8/98 5:28:10 PM Eastern Daylight Time, jstaplet at du.edu
writes:

<< Most of the "medieval weddings" that I have seen have been aimed at the
 > nobility.  What kind of wedding ceremonies and celebratory feasts would
 > the lower classes have held?  
 > Would they have held extravagnat (for peasants) day long  ceremonies or
 > simple quick exchange of vows... (ok. now they're married.. back to work)
>>

I fail to see what you are driving at here. The members of the SCA are assumed
to be of noble birth. Therefore noble weddings are to be expected. A peasant
wedding wouold be horribly out of place at an SCA event. In fact, wedding
ceremonies and ceremonies that the lower classes held would , without
exception are inappropriate in the SCA. But in answer to your question> the
word 'pagan' comes to mind since the nobility were the ones who generally
embrassed the Church. (This is not to say that noblemen who refused to be
crushed by the Church did not have elaborate pagan weddings. I clearly mean
that peasant pagan weddings are inappropriate. Noble pagan weddings would be
as appropriate as noble Christion weddings.)

Since the serf's duties to the lord occupied about one and a half days per
week of his time there was plenty of time for long ceremonies or what ever
else a peasant wanted to do iwith his liesure time. P{ersonally, in the scope
of the SCA it is, IMO, important only in context of showing an SCA persona
what they should not be doing as a nobleman.

So far as the inappropriateness of wearing garb in a wedding, I feel you are
wrong here. The couples that I have known that did this and then signed the
mundane documents as an afterward in the Quaker wedding manner were expressing
as much dignity and spirituality as those who dress in the silly penguin suits
and humorously bizaare gauzy fairy costumes that seem to be the norm as modern
weddings.

As a person who has performed several SCA weddings, I assure that those
weddings were just as spiritual and important  as any I've attended outside
the SCA. Family and guests should support the bride/groom. After all it is not
the guests who are getting married. If Mother of In-laws are embarrassed then
they can always stay home and continue in their private little dream world of
what is 'normal'. :-)

Ras
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