ceremony

Asking for Her Hand in Marriage, Tying the Knot, and Handfasting

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A typical wedding ceremony with handfasting, consisting of tying the hands of the bride and groom together.I was thinking yesterday that there might be more to the common saying “asking for her hand in marriage.”  Doing a few searches and I found that some believe it comes from a medieval ritual known as handfasting.  Today it has been adopted by certain Neopagan groups as part of their engagement or marriage rituals, but it has a history which dates back to the Middle Ages in the Christian context, and is certainly much more ancient still ((http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handfasting)).  Apparently this practice has fallen out of usage and been lost among most of mainstream Christianity, except in Eastern Orthodoxy.

The modern handfasting ritual typically consists of tying the right hands of the couple to be betrothed or wed with a ribbon or cord while the couples exchange their vows.  This is also probably the origin of the common phrase, “tying the knot.”  In some cases, all four hands are tied together to make a figure 8 when viewed from above, the symbol of infinity or eternity (as in the photo on the right) ((http://www.religioustolerance.org/mar_hand.htm)).

There is a good treatment on the history of Medieval handfasting on MedievalScotland.org, in which the author quotes from A.E. Anton:

Among the people who came to inhabit Northumbria and the Lothians, as well as among other Germanic peoples, the nuptials were completed in two distinct phases. There was first the betrothal ceremony and later the giving-away of the wife to the husband. The betrothal ceremony was called the beweddung in Anglo-Saxon because in it the future husband gave weds or sureties to the woman’s relatives, initially for payment to them of a suitable price for his bride but later for payment to her of suitable dower and morning-gift. The parties plighted their troth and the contract was sealed, like any other contract, by a hand-shake. This joining of hands was called a handfæstung in Anglo-Saxon, and the same word is found in different forms in the German, Swedish and Danish languages. In each it means a pledge by the giving of the hand. ….   [Read more…]

The Degree Ceremonies of Oxford University – Part 4

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After changing their gowns mid-ceremony the graduates enter and bow to the Vice-Chancellor and Proctors. Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford.

(Continued from Part 3)

Some more tidbits of information from Wells’ The Oxford Degree Ceremonies that might interest you:

  • The oath or charge to “observe the ‘statutes, privileges, customs and liberties’ of his university” and the accompanying affirmation “Do fidem” (“I swear”) are most likely over 700 years old, and initially were important to keep a unity among those who had subscribed to the university, and to keep out encroachments. ((Joseph Wells, The Oxford Degree Ceremonies, 19-20.))
  • The M.A.s are “exempt from Proctorial jurisdiction…” and “It is the M.A. who is admitted by the Vice-Chancellor to ‘begin’, i.e. to teach (ad incipiendum), when he is presented to him,” and many universities now call the end of the academic study “Commencement” because of this. ((ibid., 23.))
  • A degree is a “‘step’ by which the distinction of becoming a full member” of the university is acquired.  Wells notes Gibbon’s idea that “the use of academical degrees is visibly borrowed from the mechanic corporations, in which an apprentice, after serving his time, obtains a testimonial of his skill, and his license to practise his trade or mystery.” ((ibid., 24.))  [Read more…]

The Degree Ceremonies of Oxford University – Part 3

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Interior, Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, prior to degree ceremony

(Continued from Part 2)

For those of you who don’t want to wade through my analysis of the Oxford degree ceremony in the last part, or if you’d just like to see what the presentation is like, the degree ceremony that took place on September 28, 2007 at Oxford University was formally videotaped and posted on YouTube just recently.  Be prepared to hear some Latin.  It is divided into seven parts, and is about an hour long total.  I think you will find the ceremony very interesting to watch.

You may see them below: (See below these for another version, with subtitles).

Part 1 – Expand/Collapse

Part 2 – Expand/Collapse

Part 3 – Expand/Collapse

Part 4 – Expand/Collapse

Part 5 – Expand/Collapse

Part 6 – Expand/Collapse

Part 7 – Expand/Collapse

There is also a homemade videotaped version of the ceremony posted on YouTube.  It follows the experience of a graduate named Jacob and his family as he goes through the commencement exercises.  It is shorter, divided into three parts, and has subtitles in English (for those of you who are not fluent in Latin).  You can see it here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

(Continued in Part 4)

The Degree Ceremonies of Oxford University – Part 2

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Exterior, Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford University where most degree ceremonies take place - built 1664-1668

(Continued from Part 1)

Dr. Hugh Nibley’s opening remarks in his earthshaking address, “Leaders to Managers: The Fatal Shift,” given at the BYU commencement ceremony on August 19, 1983, would have fit even more perfectly in an Oxford setting. In refering to his statement in a commencement prayer he gave in 1960 in which he said, “We have met here today clothed in the black robes of a false priesthood,” he took this opportunity to explain:

Why a priesthood? Because these robes originally denoted those who had taken clerical orders; and a college was a “mystery,” with all the rites, secrets, oaths, degrees, tests, feasts, and solemnities that go with initiation into higher knowledge.

But why false? Because it is borrowed finery, coming down to us through a long line of unauthorized imitators. It was not until 1893 that “an intercollegiate commission was formed . . . to draft a uniform code for caps, gowns, and hoods” in the United States. Before that there were no rules. You could design your own; and that liberty goes as far back as these fixings can be traced. The late Roman emperors, as we learn from the infallible DuCange, marked each step in the decline of their power and glory by the addition of some new ornament to the resplendent vestments that proclaimed their sacred office and dominion. . . .  [Read more…]

The Degree Ceremonies of Oxford University – Part 1

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A degree ceremony at the Sheldonian Theatre of the University of Oxford, England

The University of Oxford in Oxford, England is “the oldest university in the English-speaking world” ((http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Oxford)).  It is also one of the “world’s leading academic institutions” ((ibid.)).  Its history dates back to the 11th century CE, and its Christian ties are evident from its crest which reads “The Lord is my Light” in Latin ((ibid.)).  When an argument broke out in 1209, some disbanded and headed north-east to found the University of Cambridge, “the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world” ((http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge)).

While there are many interesting implications that could be stated from the antiquity of this institution, the aspect which interests us here is that they claim their commencement ceremonies have remained unchanged for over 800 years. [Read more…]