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Sarah Cross wrote: > 1) Why is a castle a suitable or romantic place to be married? Courtly or romantic love was a feature of medieval literature such as Tristan and Isolde. For anyone interested in a medieval setting for a wedding that would symbolize love rather than an arranged marriage there are few choices. A medieval church could be symbolic of marriage generally, but is not very appropriate romantically -- if that is what one is going for. > 2) If an MP is married in a castle - is it a private matter? > 3) Is a wedding ever a private matter? - ceremonies in perhistory are recognised > to be prime times for advancing political agendas - why not now? Again, this hearkens to arranged marriages. > 4) If this MP finds the castle a romantic and lovely place to be, why does she > overlook an activity which was central to the culture that built it? Which > leads to - It might be difficult to incorporate all medieval activities into a single wedding ceremony ;-) but seriously, a marriage is now mostly a personal matter. We are free to define it as we will. > 5) How did castles - symbols of miltary domination - become divorced from the > violent context of their constructions in the minds of 21st century British > people (or Cornish people) How did castles become symbols of military domination in the minds of 21st century British people? Were they not symbols of protection at the time of their construction? As Will Durant put it, "In theory feudalism was a magnificent system of moral reciprocity, binding men of an endangered society to one another in a complex web of mutual obligation, protection, and fidelity". > 6) How do archaeologists (and EH) contribute to this decontextualisation which > I think stems partly from 19th century notions of romanticism (ruins = loss > = love) First, it is absurd to believe that we currently have an accurate view of the past generally. We can only reflect and compare our modern selves to what we perceive of history. All the importances, all the questions, stem from our current perceptions. These will be seen to be largely irrelevant in ages to come. Second, we don't know if a castle is being symbolized as a ruin in the mind of this MP, or if the castle itself is the motivating symbol. I really doubt the former, but a ruin could also be symbolic of past glory, a lost time -- any number of things. I don't think the 19th century has much to do with it. Romanticism was a pendulum swing away from the previous Classicism. To a great degree, it is still with us. Not so much in the visual arts, but certainly in popular media. Sensationalism and modern angst is very much its child. Cheers, John -- http://www.writer2001.com/ Hooker & Perron, Total Project Coordination Database-Web...Graphics...Custom Maps...Colour Suites...Expert Systems Building the Celtic Coin Index on the Web: http://www.writer2001.com/cciwriter2001/