This isn't quite about white *weddings,* but might it be relevant to
remember the kind of emphasis Margery Kempe places on white clothes? In
book 1, chapter 15, for example, she asks the bishop of Lincoln to "give
[her] the mantle and the ring and clothe [her] all in white clothes," and
after some thought he declines to do so, saying that she hasn't yet "proved
herself". The implication seems to be that this kind of garb would be
both distinctive and symbolic of some special claim to holiness or sexual
purity. The notes in Barry Windeatt's translation say that the mantle and
ring were signs that one had actually taken a formal vow of chastity. On
the white clothes themselves, see also the end of ch. 33, where she has
adopted the custom of wearing white clothes and people are complaining that
she doesn't deserve them, and ch. 52, where the Archbishop of York asks her
whether she's a virgin [meaning presumably a consecrated virgin?] since
she's dressed in white.
Sherry Reames (English Dept., U. Wisconsin, Madison)
>Dear Sarah,
>
>In looking at hundreds of depositions in marital litigation from
>15th-century diocese of London (from 1460s to c. 1500), I have never yet
>found a bride wearing white--at least not that I remember off the top of my
>head. There is plenty of evidence of what the woman, the man, and the
>witnesses were wearing when they contracted marriage (the clothes of the
>parties are frequently described, especially their colour, as a
>corroborating detail in the testimony), although in most cases the evidence
>relates to the crucial first exchange of consent rather than the church
>solemnization, which usually occurred later. In that evidence, whether in a
>home or church, women wear many different colours, although rarely (never?
>one hates to say never) white--one gathers that they probably wore their
>best dress, but there was no particular custom in England at that time to
>wear any other particular colour. They wear the usual tawny, russet, blue,
>sometimes green, murrey, etc. (and the men wear the same). I think the lack
>of white simply stems from there being relatively little white
>cloth--although I'm no expert on textiles. The social station of those
>involved in these cases ranges from relatively low to gentry (although
>relatively few of the latter). There *are* references to clothes being
>specifically prepared for the nuptials (i.e. the church solemnization), but
>I don't think off the top of my head I have any specific references to what
>they looked like or what colour they were (preparation of the clothing was
>seen as evidence that someone had the intention to marry, which is why it
>would come into the case). If you're interested, let me know, and I'll look
>out for it when I have time to go through my notes.
>
>I believe, although this is very fuzzy, that the modern western tradition of
>wearing white is a Victorian development. But there I'm happy to be
>contradicted since I'm unsure.
>
>I'd also be very happy to hear about any other evidence regarding wedding
>clothes in the Middle Ages.
>
>Shannon McSheffrey
>History, Concordia U.
>Montreal, QC
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Sarah Salih <[log in to unmask]>
>To: medieval-religion <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Monday, June 07, 1999 8:05 AM
>Subject: White Weddings
>
>
>> Dear All,
>> In the final stages of my thesis, I'm trying to sort out all those nagging
>little loopholes which
>> seem to have crept in; though this is not strictly a religious question, I
>wonder if the collective
>> expertise of the list might be able to help out? What I need to know is
>whether it was normal
>> for brides in later medieval England to wear white. I know that white is
>generally associated
>> with purity, brideship etc and so would be appropriate, but not whether
>this translated into
>> actual practice, and I'm a little dubious about this, as a white dress
>would surely be such a
>> heavily symbolic garment that it would be difficult to wear more than
>once - which seems
>> wasteful. I know that Katherine of Aragon wore a white wedding dress, but
>this is late, and
>> high society. Our library here is not well-stocked with histories of
>costume; of those I've
>> found, some say that white has always been the colour of brides, some that
>the custom is
>> c19. So I'd be very grateful for references to a reliable general guide,
>or to medieval brides
>> wearing - or not wearing - white.
>> Sarah Salih
>>
>>
>
>
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