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MEDIEVAL-RELIGION  June 1999

MEDIEVAL-RELIGION June 1999

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Subject:

Re: White Weddings

From:

Bunbury <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

[log in to unmask]

Date:

Mon, 07 Jun 1999 23:03:01 -0400

Content-Type:

text/plain

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I was thinking of the same episodes in Margery Kempe's book and wonder what
might be the distinction between the ritual wearing of white as a sign of
consecrated virginity and the practice of a nun's ritual "wedding" upon
taking final vows.  Anyone up on the latter practice?

Tom Long

At 06:06 PM 6/7/99 -0500, you wrote:
>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
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
> 
Thomas L. Long
[log in to unmask]

http://users.visi.net/~longt

 


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