Just as he had done ten years before.
Just as he now recognized Rurik and Duncan had done.
As a laird, he should be horrified that something, anything or anyone, should come before loyalty to clan and laird.
As a man he could accept it.
As a man in love he could relish in it.
Glancing around the hall, there was no doubt that he and Rurik and now Duncan had found women worthy of that love and that protection.
Author’s Note
The practice of handfasting plays a large part in the legends of the Scottish Highlands, but it is difficult to find a factual basis for it. Most evidence is anecdotal at best and even that comes from time periods more recent than the setting of my story.
Part of the misunderstanding about the practice (if it did exist) is that it goes back to the time when marriage was actually divided (or thought of) in two parts—the betrothal and the consummation. In earlier periods, families who were high in power or wealthy with lands and money to protect would make marriage arrangements in advance with a formal betrothal and marriage contracts drawn up to divide or protect their lands, titles or wealth. At some time after that betrothal, the woman would go to live with the man and the marriage was accomplished, more through the fact of consummation and living together as husband and wife than through a formal marriage ceremony.
In the later tenth century and early eleventh century, the Church became interested in the vast assets of noble and royal families and in gaining power through the political control of nations and asserted itself into the marriage process. Priests were required as part of the betrothal and marriage contracts (many clerks who kept the records for the wealthy, noble and royalty were in fact priests or monks) and the marriage ceremony began to take precedence as the beginning of the marriage.
Sometimes, though, marriages began without the sanction of the Church, especially in distant areas where priests were not permanently assigned to serve or unable to reach on a regular basis. Like the Highlands of Scotland? So, after agreeing to marry and planning to marry, some couples began living together as husband and wife until the priest could arrive to make it official.
It’s possible that stories of trial marriages or temporary ones came from those situations and later, the stories told by travelers in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries speak of handfasted unions, which lasted for a year and a day and could be ended with the consent of the couple. Proving the existence of handfasting has been difficult, if not impossible, but proving it didn’t happen isn’t possible, either.
So…writers use this legendary practice for lots of romantic reasons (as I have in this story), yes, taking literary license to enhance the story of handfasting so that it helps to strengthen our stories. And it is appealing, isn’t it?
If you’re interested in learning more about the reality of marriage in medieval times, I can suggest The Knight, the Lady and the Priest: A History of Modern Marriage in Medieval France by George Duby. I’ve found it to be an incredible source of information about the mores and customs of the times.
Happy Reading!
ISBN: 978-1-4268-2064-9
POSSESSED BY THE HIGHLANDER
Copyright © 2008 by Theresa S. Brisbin
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Possessed by the Highlander Page 24
