Unlike the present day, where weddings are presumed to be a societal occasion which is expected to be glamorous and classy depending on the economic state of the groom and bride, the peasant’s weddings in the middle ages were conducted differently and were occasions that purposely were meant to merge two families on the basis of wealth and financial security for the couple and the families involved. The peasants were the lowest class of people at this medieval period and hence life was more of a struggle. During this time, around the 15th century, the peasant community was made up of individuals who earned their living and managed to survive through working for others or renting a land that they would plow to sustain their lives from the crops planted. Besides farming, other peasants were blacksmiths and tradesmen. Despite the economic challenges they faced, like the nobles and the royal families, the peasants got married and had their own ways of conducting a wedding ceremony. Their wedding ceremonies were quite liberal since the groom could identify a bride of his choice to marry although to some point they experienced coercion from the parents on the choice of the bride for the sake of financial security reasons. Arranged marriages were more experienced in the noble class. In order for two to tangle as man and wife, they needed approval from their master, who was referred to as their lord hence in the case where the couples were from different estates, approval from both masters was required. The peasants were expected to pay a certain fee to their lord in order for the marriage to take place; this fee was referred to as ‘merchet.’ The amount of the fee was dependent on some issues that included whether or not the woman was getting married from the same estate. If she was getting married in a different estate, the ‘merchet’ fee would be higher since the lord would lose her services to another master. Before the wedding, banns of marriage would be placed on the doors of the church for the public to see so that in case there was someone who had a valid reason as to why the couple should not marry, he or she was to report to the priest before the wedding day. The bride was responsible for the dowry that was decided by the men from the groom’s side. The dowry was meant to support the groom in taking care of his future wife and children after the wedding as noted by Hanawalt (1986). In addition, the dowry was in an actual sense the share of inheritance for the bride given by her parents.
The festivals were limited to what they could afford, from dressing to the meals and participation of other peasants in the wedding. In most instances, the bride would wear any dress of any color since what was more important was for her to get married. The dress could either be one of her best outfits that she owned or an outfit she made purposely for her wedding. The veil, was a usual attire for women in this era, hence even in the wedding, the bride wore it. Many peasants were religious and a priest was involved in their marriage for the same reasons as today. First, the priest was supposed to guide the couple in exchanging their vows and bless their marriage. Secondly, the priest was a core witness that the two got married hence in case of instances where one of the couples especially the man would denounce the woman, there would be proof that the two were actually legally married (Grooves, 2016).
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After the exchange of vows between the bride and groom witnessed by the whole community of peasants, a celebration would be done in a barn owned by the lord or the master of the peasants getting married. The feast was an opportunity for the peasant to socialize from their hard working sessions, a time to relax while sharing drinks and food. Unlike in the case of the nobles and the royalties where in some instances like in Norway, wedding festivals were conducted for up to three days of drinking, eating, and dancing. The peasants were expected to get back to work after the couples tie the knot, and therefore, their feasting was limited to one day. In this ceremony, they were able to serve meals that included soup, porridge, and bread. Despite them being of the lower class in the society, the peasants would at times share some game meat that they would have hunted and preserved through smoking, especially the birds like peacock, the swans and crane birds. In some other occasions, wild fruits like peaches, pears, and quinces would be made available depending on their seasons. Many weddings at the time were considered incomplete in case wine was not a part of the menu, the noble’s drunk wine to their satisfaction but that was not the case in a peasant’s wedding. Instead, the drinks that were served in a peasant wedding included fermented juices made from the wild fruits collected and water.
In relation to the painting, the weddings of the peasants like other weddings were a communal occasion which was attended by most of the family and friends of the couple including neighboring peasants. The barns that were used as the venue for the wedding ceremony would be full of guests in attendance. Just like in the weddings of the nobles, there was order and delegation of duties to different individuals. According to Lindsay (1956), shown in the photo, there are some gentlemen with bagpipers in their hands and in most cases, these were talented volunteers or family friends who offered to play the music in the wedding ceremony. Other men were in charge of serving the guests and friends of the couple.
Peasant Weddings and the Three Estates
Around the 15th century, the community was made up of individuals who were classified according to their social class which was determined by their economic status and their influence on the society or responsibilities. The first estate was the church which comprised of the clergy. In relation to the peasant weddings, the clergy was responsible for the unifying of the wedding and blessing the marriage of the peasants who were tying the knot. As we had observed earlier, the clergy was responsible for the announcing of the wedding banns by placing the announcement in front of the church doors that was a central place for the community. The banns were basically meant to inform the community of the upcoming wedding and allowing those who were against it a chance to voice their reasons through the clergy. In case this happened, the clergy would deliberate whether or not the reasons provided were valid to stop the wedding and therefore would have the final decision. On the other hand, the clergy would take the couple through the process of exchanging their marriage vows. The presence of the clergy in the wedding was a clear sign that the wedding was legal and was acceptable before God hence in case of a divorce the couples would be required to go through the clergy for clarifications and provide proper reasons for divorce. The involvement of the clergy in peasant marriages was majorly to hinder secret marriages that were conducted without witnesses and later own would have issues that needed the clergy to help resolve. For instance, women were expected to stay pure until marriage and therefore in case of engagement in premarital sex that led to a pregnancy that the man refused to take responsibility, the couple would need the help of the community and clergy to resolve this issue yet they still would be considered illegitimate (Ward, 2014). Despite these requirements, divorce was very rare and was perceived as a fail of both the couples.
The second estate was made up of the nobles who were individuals that had power over the resources and managed the lands and the peasants were working on these lands. That said, the lords were mostly from these class hence had so much power in the peasants’ weddings. The lords were responsible for allowing their peasants to get married, for they had to seek permission from their masters. The relationship between the nobles and the peasant was basically on the grounds of providing a place of stay and a land to cultivate crops in return for labor in the farms and households of the nobles. As stated earlier, celebrations and feasting were not an exception in the peasants’ wedding, hence the noble lords would allow the peasants to use their barns to conduct their ceremonies. Since all peasants were of value depending on their responsibilities in their noble masters’ household, getting married would either mean a loss or a profit to the noble master hence, in case a master would lose a vital peasant, he or she would be penalized through paying the ‘merchet’ fee. Wedding ceremonies meant that the crops cultivated by peasants would be used to prepare the meals for feasting which on the other hand would cost either the lords or the peasants alike.
The third estate was made up of the peasants who were considered the lowest ranked individuals during this medieval period hence they were defined as individuals who were economically challenged. Once an individual was born a peasant, despite their zeal and hard work, they would remain peasants to their old age. Peasants were only allowed to marry fellow peasants, whereby there was no chance for them to get to any other rank through marriage. As it is illustrated in the portrait above, peasants would support each other in the wedding setting and hence would fully participate from preparing the meals, to entertaining the people in attendance. Marriage was a significant stage in both the male and female peasants since both would benefit from the union by ensuring that the marriage would increase their source of livelihood. Furthermore, their union would encourage procreation which was more beneficial to their lord because of the increased number of individuals who would contribute to the labor force provided by the lord’s farms. Furthermore, the peasants’ weddings were an opportunity for the peasants to have a social life together with friends and family from the fields and tedious tasks they handled from a day in and day out. The groom and bride would then be given a chance to consummate in order to finalize on the wedding ritual that signified that they were finally man and wife (Frank 1990). Generally, all the individuals from the three social estates in the medieval period had a significant and yet a vital role in the wedding and feasts of peasants.
Peasant Weddings and the Medieval World-System
In medieval times, marriages were arranged by parents and the friends for political reasons and social class in order to gain wealth or improve the prosperity that the family needed. The notion of marrying for love was not considerable since the major aspect of a family was for the couples to provide for their children and ensure they lived a good life. Therefore, the considerations of material stuff like land were the basis of finding a groom or a bride. Marriages in this period were considered economic contracts that were supposed to benefit both the couples and their families. As for the case of peasants who were disadvantaged economically, they had a chance to choose their desired spouses. Contrary to this freedom, wealth, and ability of a partner to generate enough finances was a factor that contributed to the way spouses were chosen (Newman, 2001).
In reference to Schroeder (1989), couples were engaged at an early stage of their lives contrary to the practices we see today. The bride would be married off at an early age of twelve while the groom would marry when he was seventeen and in some cases fourteen. Betrothal was a common practice which preceded the wedding. In most cases, the betrothals were more festival compared to the wedding ceremony. They were mostly done by the parents of the children who were intended to get married. This was mainly conducted to secure an economic position in the society. In these betrothals, the families involved would exchange properties as a seal that their children would marry in future. In addition, the bride to be would be given a ring, a kiss and a pair of sandals by her future husband. On the other hand, the groom to be would receive a sleeve from his future wife’s dress or her pair of stockings. While marriages defined the significance of individuals in this period, according to (Thomas, Znaniecki, & Zaretsky, 1996), weddings were a community occasion that brought everyone together. The social class of the couples would determine the period the wedding ceremony would take and how the feasts would be conducted. As for the nobilities, after tying the knot in the church, the couple would then join the rest of the family and friends in the celebration for up to three days. Historians depict that the lengthy wedding feasts were more of involvement of self-indulgence in drinking and celebration. While women were responsible for paying the dowry which they carried on their way to the grooms’ home, the groom would get gifts for the bride which included utensils and furniture. Other family members would also get gifts for both the groom and bride. Unlike the peasants, the nobilities had a variety of meals to feast on. From meat to vegetables, fruits, nuts, wine and milk. Meat varieties would range from birds like the goose, quails and peacock, fish, and mutton. As for the fruits, apples were most common in this period but as mentioned earlier, there were wild fruits which were also used and made available in such festivities.
Wedding ceremonies in the medieval system were limited to a given period of time since some religious ceremonies like the Advent and Lent were set aside and were strictly performed hence marriages would not be performed at the same time as these religious ceremonies. There were restrictions on the marriage set up which were defined by the clergy. For instance, two couples would not be allowed to marry in case they were close relatives. In other instances, the wedding would be canceled in case one of the couples had earlier made religious vows or were not of the same religious beliefs. In addition, a marriage would not push through unless the couples were of legal ages and that was twelve and fourteen for the bride and groom respectively (Diehl & Donnelly 2001).
Most of the wedding ceremony practices exercised currently have borrowed from the medieval times, only a few specifics have been changed or modified. The exchange of vows and rings, the feastings, the dressing up of the bride and groom, the long preparations, and the dowry negotiations among many other practices are some of the similarities observed. Contrary to this fact, unlike the medieval system where marriages were not based on love but economic, political and social reasons, currently couples decide whom they will marry on the basis of love and other benefits. Marriages have become a private affair where only the family and friends of the couples would be allowed to attend the ceremony.
Marriage was an important occasion in the medieval period especially to the peasants who were ranked the lowest in the social class of that time. They earned their livelihoods from working for landlords who in return exchanged a piece of land that they would use to cultivate their crops and build a house they would stay in. Just like the nobilities, wedding ceremonies were a time of celebration and socializing while eating and drinking. Typically, the brides would pay the dowry while the groom would buy the utensils and furniture. The clergy was responsible for controlling the wedding proceedings and guiding the couples in exchanging the vows. The wedding feast was conducted in the barn of the lord who would allow the peasants to use it and also would give permission of whether or not the peasants would get married. Marriage was supposed to be of value to both the couples where either of them would inject family provision to the family through their hard work in the farms.
References
Diehl, D., & Donnelly, M. (2001). Medieval Celebrations: How to Plan Holidays, Weddings, and Reenactments with Recipes, Customs, Costumes, Decorations, Songs, Dances, and Games. New York: Stackpole Books.
Frank, A. G. (1990). A theoretical introduction to 5,000 years of world system history. Review (Fernand Braudel Center) , 155-248.
Groves, M. (2006). Manners and Customs in the Middle Ages. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company.
Hanawalt, B. A. (1986). The Ties that Bound: Peasant Families in Medieval England. London: Oxford University Press.
Lindsay, K. C. (1956). Meaning and Method in Brueghel's Painting. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism , 14(3), 376-386.
Newman, P. B. (2001). Daily Life in the Middle Ages. California: McFarland.
Schroeder, J. L. (1989). Feminism Historicized: Medieval Misogynist Stereotypes in Contemporary Feminist Jurisprudence. Iowa L. Rev , 75, 1135.
Thomas, W. I., Znaniecki, F., & Zaretsky, E. (1996). The Polish Peasant in Europe and America: A Classic Work in Immigration History. Univerity of Illinois.
Ward, J. (2014). Women in Medieval Europe: 1200-1500. London: Routledge.
