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Scottish Medieval Bibliography

Handfasting and Marriage

©1996-2000 by Sharon L. Krossa. All rights reserved.

Last updated 11 Sep 2001

"Handfasting" was simply betrothal (promise of future marriage -- getting engaged to be married). It was not marriage of any kind, temporary or otherwise! These articles will tell you all about Scottish medieval handfasting and marriage, including references for further research.

Scottish

• Anton, A. E. "'Handfasting' in Scotland." The Scottish Historical Review 37.124 (October 1958): 89-102
  This article includes examples of actual handfasting (betrothal) ceremony details and marriage ceremony details, including vows.
• Forte, A. D. M. "Some Aspects of the Law of Marriage in Scotland: 1500-1700." In Marriage and Property Ñ Women and Marital Customs in History, edited by Elizabeth Craik, 104 - 18. Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1984. Order from Amazon.com Order from Amazon.co.uk
• Sellar, W. D. H. "Marriage by Cohabitation with Habit and Repute: Review and Requiem?" In Comparative and Historical Essays in Scots Law: A Tribute to Professor Sir Thomas Smith Qc, edited by D. L. Carey Miller and D. W. Meyers, 117-36. Edinburgh: Butterworths, 1992. Order from Amazon.co.uk
• Seton, Bruce. "The Distaff Side: A Study in Matrimonial Adventure in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries." Scottish Historical Review 17 (1920): 272-86.
• Smout, T. C. "Scottish Marriage, Regular and Irregular, 1500-1940." In Marriage and Society: Studies in the Social History of Marriage, edited by R. B. Outhwaite, 204-36. London: Europa Publications Limited, 1981.
• Also see the "Marriage" section of the Annotated Bibliography of Scottish Pre-Modern Women's History (29 Apr 2005)
• See also the (very rough) draft edition of the article Historical Handfasting (13 May 2006)

General European

• Brundage, James A. Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1990. Order from Amazon.com Order from Amazon.co.uk
  This is an excellent and exhaustive look at the canon law governing marriage in Europe from Ancient Rome to the Reformation (a period of time during which church law regarding marriage changed considerably). Since Scotland was part of Roman Catholic Christendom, understanding canon law is necessary for understanding Scottish marriage law and practice. (The book also deals with the other stuff in the title, too...)

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