About Wedding Traditions & Meanings

Monday, April 30, 2018

Scottish engagement ring and other traditions


In earlier posts I’ve talked about how the wedding engagement ring tradition can be traced back to ancient Romans and even further back to the book of Genesis when rings where given as pledges. Today, we are only going to look back as far as the Middle Ages, when the Scots started their own wedding engagement tradition of giving a fede ring. But unlike today’s practices, these silver Scottish engagement rings weren’t given to the bride-to-be, but instead was handed over to church (kirk)  when making arrangements for proclaiming the marriage. Along with the fede ring, the Scots practiced two other engagement traditions: the giving of the Luckenbooth Brooch and Claddagh Ring.

Fede Ring


Fede ring

The design of the silver fede ring included two hands which met in a clasp representing friendship, love or betrothal. This design is also historically thought to date back to ancient Rome or before.

Luckenbooth brooch

The Lukenbooth brooch tradition dates back to the early 1700s when silver and gold smiths sold merchandise in an open market along the Royal Mile, next to to Edinburgh Castle. At this time, open-market stalls were swapped for booths that could be locked after closing, and this is where the name luckenbooth (locked booth) comes from.

The jewelers crafted these brooches with designs including intertwining hearts beneath a crown which symbolized Mary Queen of Scots. Even the hearts often were shaped to create an “M” after the fashion of the Queen’s monogram.
Luckenbooth Brooch

Another wedding tradition included having these brooches engraved with a pledge of love. After the wedding, the bride often tucked the brooch away as a special keepsake. When the union was blessed with a first child, the brooch was pinned to the christening gown or blanket. Then it was tucked away until that firstborn’s own betrothal.

For those in America, an interesting twist on this tradition took place in the 18th century when the Iroquois Indians of North America traded for Luckenbooth brooches!

Today the giving of a Luckenbooth brooch as a token of betrothal is still considered one of the most romantic symbols of love.

Claddagh ring

The Claddagh ring was also worn as an engagement ring. In fact, depending on how you wear the Claddagh ring it has different meanings including friendship, betrothal, or marriage. This ring design includes hands meeting (friendship) clasping a heart (love), topped with a crown which represents loyalty. Today this is probably the most popular traditional betrothal gifts exchanged as a token of unfailing love.

Claddagh Ring

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