Her Half of History

Instead of telling you a story about what we can gather from historical documents, I am just going to actually read you a historical document. If that’s not your jam, give it a break and come back for the next regular episode on the African-American bride.

In 1549, Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, authorized the first Book of Common Prayer for use in the fairly recently formed Church of England. It included a section called “The Forme of Solemnizacion of Matrimonie.” 

Cranmer is generally given credit for having written it. He certainly directed that it should be written. The Book of Common Prayer was subsequently revised several times, but I have compared multiple versions and the differences to this section are pretty minimal. The Church of England still likes the 1662 version today, and yes, the bride still promises to obey her husband in that version. The Anglican church in North America revised as recently as 2019, and no, the bride does not promise to obey in that version. But overall, the sentiment and much of the language remain the same. 

Besides the slight revisions, there were times when the Book of Common Prayer was in favor and also times when it was out. The Catholic Mary I didn’t use it, of course, because it wasn’t Catholic. Ironically, the Puritans under Oliver Cromwell also didn’t use it because it had too much Catholic influence. Sometimes you just can’t win.

Except that it did win, because overall it was in favor more often than it was out. So as I read this, you can imagine many an English bride on her wedding day: Anne Hathaway who married William Shakespeare in 1582. Pocahontas (not English) who married John Rolfe (yes, English) in 1614. Martha Custis, who was still an English subject when she married George Washington in 1759. Queen Victoria, who married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840. Poet Elizabeth Barrett who married poet Robert Browning in 1846. I could go on with more and more brides up to and including Kate Middleton who married Prince William in 2011. The following service would have been familiar to all of them, with a few slight variations from time to time. 

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Join Into History for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

There are as many different wedding ceremonies in world history as there are cultures, religions, and possibly brides. Technically, a couple may not really need a wedding ceremony. And yet, no one sends out invitations so everyone can come watch them sign some legal documents. There is a thrill to pretending that wedded life begins when someone says "I now pronounce you husband and wife" even if we all know that legally speaking it began with a signature a little earlier. 

The wedding ceremony has a great deal of cultural significance. I cannot cover every culture's version, so I’m going to do a sample of only three: a pagan Roman ceremony, a Hindu ceremony from rural India, and then the evolution of the English ceremony that evolved into the one you've seen in countless Hollywood movies and maybe attended in person as well.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Join Into History for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

There are as many different wedding ceremonies in world history as there are cultures, religions, and possibly brides. Technically, a couple may not really need a wedding ceremony. And yet, no one sends out invitations so everyone can come watch them sign some legal documents. There is a thrill to pretending that wedded life begins when someone says "I now pronounce you husband and wife" even if we all know that legally speaking it began with a signature a little earlier. 

The wedding ceremony has a great deal of cultural significance. I cannot cover every culture's version, so I’m going to do a sample of only three: a pagan Roman ceremony, a Hindu ceremony from rural India, and then the evolution of the English ceremony that evolved into the one you've seen in countless Hollywood movies and maybe attended in person as well.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

The most noticeable thing about a modern wedding is often the bride's dress. And; yet in history, the bride's dress is rarely described. Nevertheless, here's a history of what the bride wore, from the six braids and veil of a Roman bride, to the silver and white ornateness of an early modern royal bride, to the service uniform of a bride in the World Wars, and right up to the gorgeous white fantasies so popular today.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Join Into History for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

The most noticeable thing about a modern wedding is often the bride's dress. And; yet in history, the bride's dress is rarely described. Nevertheless, here's a history of what the bride wore, from the six braids and veil of a Roman bride, to the silver and white ornateness of an early modern royal bride, to the service uniform of a bride in the World Wars, and right up to the gorgeous white fantasies so popular today.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

Rings have been associated with marriage since Roman times, but they didn't necessarily look like the modern ones. This episode tracks the history of the ring from the Romans, through the middle Ages (with a brief diversion to JRR Tolkien), by way of the Anglicans and the Puritans, and direct to a huge 20th century advertising success that led us to the now more-or-less obligatory diamond ring on so many married women's fingers.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

Rings have been associated with marriage since Roman times, but they didn't necessarily look like the modern ones. This episode tracks the history of the ring from the Romans, through the middle Ages (with a brief diversion to JRR Tolkien), by way of the Anglicans and the Puritans, and direct to a huge 20th century advertising success that led us to the now more-or-less obligatory diamond ring on so many married women's fingers.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Join Into History for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

If you are a Jane Austen fan, you will know that being beautiful, witty, good natured, and accomplished is good, but having a dowry is better. Austen's impoverished heroines always get their man in the end, the sad truth is, it didn't work for Austen herself. She had no dowry. And she never married. 

So what is this dowry thing? And why, as Mr. Bennett said, should a father have to bribe worthless young men to marry his daughters? Is it not incredibly insulting to a girl to think that the punk in question should need bribing? Are we women not enough as we are? Listen to this episode for the honest answer, the difference between dowry and brideprice, and why you (probably) don't need a dowry anymore.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Join Into History for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

If you are a Jane Austen fan, you will know that being beautiful, witty, good natured, and accomplished is good, but having a dowry is better. Austen's impoverished heroines always get their man in the end, the sad truth is, it didn't work for Austen herself. She had no dowry. And she never married. 

So what is this dowry thing? And why, as Mr. Bennett said, should a father have to bribe worthless young men to marry his daughters? Is it not incredibly insulting to a girl to think that the punk in question should need bribing? Are we women not enough as we are? Listen to this episode for the honest answer, the difference between dowry and brideprice, and why you (probably) don't need a dowry anymore.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

If you are a member of modern Western society, then you likely have a definite idea of the traditional marriage proposal, even if you yourself have chosen to ignore portions of it. But the traditional proposal is not all that old. Several of its elements are very recent. One is even a deliberate invention of the bridal industry, and many a historic couple would have been surprised or possibly horrified at the whole idea. In this episode, I explore the marriage proposal as it existed in ancient China, Icelandic sagas, and English literature until we arrive at our modern sentimental age where love generally does have something to do with it.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Join Into History for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.