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This is a
popularized Medieval ceremony... It is a
short version of the full, original text -
for which some couples then add modern
passages or readings to it. It also is
shorter. The core sources are the Book of
Common Prayer of HRM Elizabeth I of
England, extracts from the Sarum Rite and
the York Rite, and various other lesser
sources.
At the day and time
appointed for solemnization of Matrimony,
the persons to be married shall come into
the porch of the Church with their friends
and neighbors; and there standing
together, the Man on the right hand, and
the woman on the left, with that person
who shall give the Woman betwixt them, the
Priest shall say:
Dearly beloved, we
are gathered together here in the sight of
God to join together this Man and this
Woman in holy Matrimony; which is an
honourable estate, instituted of God in
Paradise, and into which holy estate these
two persons present come now to be joined.
Therefore if any man
can shew any just cause, why they may not
lawfully be joined together, let him now
speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his
peace.
I require and charge
you both, as ye will answer at the
dreadful day of judgment when the secrets
of all hearts shall be disclosed, that if
either of you know any impediment, why ye
may not be lawfully joined together in
Matrimony, that ye confess it. For ye be
well assured, that so many as be coupled
together otherwise than God's Word doth
allow are not joined together by God;
neither is their Matrimony lawful. At
which day of Marriage, if any man do
allege and declare any impediment, why
they may not be coupled together in
Matrimony, by God's Law, or the Laws of
the Realm; and will be bound, and
sufficient sureties with him, to the
parties; or else put in a Caution (to the
full value of such charges as the persons
to be married do thereby sustain) to prove
his allegation; then the solemnization
must be deferred, until such time as the
truth be tried. If no impediment be
alleged, then shall the
Priest say unto the
Man: Wilt the have this Woman to be thy
wedded wife, to live together after God's
ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony?
Wilt the love her, comfort her, honour,
and keep her, in sickness and in health;
and forsaking all other, keep thee only
unto her, so long as ye both shall live?
The Man shall answer:
I will.
Then shall the Priest
say to the Woman: Wilt the have this man
to be thy wedded husband, to live together
after God's ordinance in the holy estate
of Matrimony? Wilt the obey him, and serve
him, love, honour, and keep him in
sickness and in health; and, forsaking all
other, keep thee only unto him, so long as
ye both shall live?
The Woman shall
answer: I will.
Thus ends the formal
betrothal. The couple shall advance to the
Altar, led by the Minister, who shall then
turn to the assembled company, and say:
Who giveth this Woman
to be married to this Man?
The person who gives
the Woman shall answer, and shall place
the Woman's right hand in the hand of the
Minister, and then shall retire. Then
shall they give their troth to each other
in this manner: The Minister, receiving
the Woman at her father's or friend's
hands, shall cause the Man with his right
hand to take the Woman by her right hand,
and to say after him as followeth,
GROOM' VOW: "I,
___________, take thee __________ to my
wedded wife, to have and to hold from this
day forward, for better for worse, for
richer for poorer, for fairer or fouler,
in sickness and in health, to love and to
cherish, till death us depart, according
to God's holy ordinance; and thereunto I
plight thee my troth.
Then shall they loose
their hands; and the Woman, with her right
hand taking the Man by his right hand,
shall likewise say after the Minister,
BRIDE'S VOW: I
___________ take thee___________ to my
wedded husband, to have and to hold from
this day forward, for better for worse,
for richer or poorer, in sickness and in
health, to be bonny and buxom at bed and
at board, to love and to cherish, till
death us depart, according to God's holy
ordinance; and thereunto I plight thee my
troth.
Then shall they again
loose their hands; and the Man shall give
unto the Woman a Ring, laying the same
upon the Book with the accustomed duty to
the Priest and Clerk. And the Priest shall
bless the Ring(s) in the following manner:
Bless these Rings, O
merciful Lord, that those who wear them,
that give and receive them, may be ever
faithful to one another, remain in your
peace, and live and grow old together in
your love, under their own vine and fig
tree, and seeing their children's
children. Amen.
And the Priest,
taking the Ring, shall deliver it to the
Man, to put it on the fourth finger of the
Woman's left hand. And the Man holding the
ring there, and taught by the Priest,
shall say,
GROOM: With this Ring
I thee wed, (here placing it upon her
thumb) and with my body I thee honor,
(here placing it upon her index finger)
and with all my worldly goods I thee
endow; (here placing it upon her ring
finger) In the Name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
If it be a
double-ring ceremony, let the Woman do the
same as the Man, giving him the ring, and
repeating the same words as he. They both
shall kneel down; and the Minister shall
say,
Let us pray. O
Eternal God, Creator and Preserver of all
mankind, Giver of all spiritual grace, the
Author of everlasting life; Send thy
blessing upon these thy servants, this man
and this woman, whom we bless in thy Name;
+ that, as Isaac and Rebecca lived
faithfully together, so these persons may
surely perform and keep the vow and
covenant betwixt them made, whereof this
Ring given and received is a token and
pledge, and may ever hereafter remain in
perfect love and peace together, and live
according to thy laws; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
And here shall be
said the LORD'S PRAYER.
Then shall the Priest
join their right hands together, and say,
Those whom God hath
joined together let no man put asunder.
Then shall the Minister speak unto the
people. Forasmuch as N and N have
consented together in holy wedlock, and
have witnessed the same before God and
this company, and thereto have given and
pledged their troth each to the other, and
have declared the same by giving and
receiving of a Ring, and by joining of
hands; I pronounce therefore that they be
Man and Wife together, in the Name of the
Father, + and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen
The Minister shall
add this blessing.
God the Father, God
the Son, God the Holy Spirit, bless,
preserve, and keep you; the Lord
mercifully with his favour look upon you;
and so fill you with all spiritual
benediction and grace, that ye may so live
together in this life, that in the world
to come ye may have life everlasting.
Amen.
And here the Minister
shall turn the couple to the Company, and
they may kiss each the other, and then
proceed from the Altar. And if it be the
wish of the couple to take Communion, they
may do it privately, following these
ceremonies. |