Tying Of The Knot

[Paul Henry]

the logic is.....
It is not only practised in Scotland, I;ve sent you a PM about this, and we can discuss it further if you like.
If you care even to do a very basic search on google you will see what I mean
Handfasting is primarily a pagan or celtic ceremony, that doesn't mean it is Scottish, and there are many such cermonies all over Ireland and England, and even in the USA!!
I have been involved in several of them and not one of them had anything to do with Scotland

[Pour1Malt]

aye it is a pagan ceremony AND it is Scottish.... (especially the part aboot tying the twa tartan o the families tagither....)

[GlassMan]

I had always been of the assumption that handfasting was a primarily Celtic tradition that was adopted into the Christian liturgy as the church spread into the Celtic lands of Gaul, Britain, Ireland and Scotland. If you look at old liturgical manuals of the Catholic Church you will find the practice to have been adopted into the ceremonies although it is the stole of the priest which is used and not a swatch of tartan.

I also think we should consider this in terms of sets and subsets. Things Scottish are a subset of things Celtic. All things Scottish should be considered a part of the larger spectrum of things Celtic. But not all things Celtic are Scottish. However, in this instance the practice is both found within the larger set of things Celtic and within the subset of things Scottish. Just because it is also found within other Celtic Subsets and was even adopted by non-Celtic groups after exposure to the practice, does not make it any less Scottish. It just means that it's also a part of the practices of the other groups.

I feel that one can just as truthfully state that the practice is Scottish as one can state that it is Irish or Celtic or Pagan or even Christian since the pagan practice was adopted by the church into the liturgies.

Also, just because a similar cultural expression is found in two different cultures does not mean that one necessarily borrowed from another. Just as species can sometimes independently evolve similar adaptations to fill similar evolutionary niches (despite being completely unrelated) so too could a practice such as handfasting evolve independently. It is a rather self-evident idea. What does one do when one wishes to join to pieces of wood? One ties them together. And since our cultural ceremonies are often borrowed or based on common aspects of life for the roots of their symbolism, what might someone do to symbolize the joining of 2 people or 2 families? Why, tie them together of course!

As an aside, I've seen the bride and grooms hands bound together using rope in a Korean buddhist ceremony and was told that the practice originated as an ancient part of THEIR tradition. Considering the distance and the mutual claims of antiquity, I am inclined to believe that both developed the practice independently.

Okay, all this is to say why can't the practice of handfasting be an ancient Scottish tradition as well as an ancient Korean tradition and an ancient continental Pagan tradition? Is it so unbelievable that they might have had some independent development of culture that lead them to similar symbols? And why must only one group get credit?

[macwilkin]

Just read Krossa's article on Scottish handfasting, and she has some interesting conclusions about the practice in regards to Scottish folklore and custom:

There are three distinct meanings, and three different eras, for "handfasting":

From the Middle Ages through the early 17th century, something contemporaries called "handfasting" was actually practiced. It was a formal betrothal to be married and occured in a Christian context.

From the late 18th century through the early 20th century, "handfasting" was mistakenly believed to be a kind of trial marriage for a year and a day. No contemporaries practiced it, rather, it was erroneously believed to have been practiced long ago in the past.

From the late 20th century, in addition to many people continuing to mistakenly believe that in the past "handfasting" was a kind of trial marriage for a year and a day, "handfasting" has been used by various Neopagans to refer to their own modern religious practices ranging from temporary unions to legal marriages.

-- http://www.medievalscotland.org/hist...dfasting.shtml

Please note that these are Krossa's conclusions to her research, and not my own opinion and/or statements. I am not trying to prove anyone wrong, just posting a summary of Krossa's article on historic handfasting in Scotland only.
Regards,

Todd