4 Ancient Viking Marriage Traditions for Today

Viking-inspired wedding themes are growing in popularity. Some couples choose a Viking décor based on ancient Norse and Celtic history that include things like drinking mead from traditional drinking horns and tying the knot by handfasting. But for those who want to take their wedding beyond the usual accoutrements, incorporating one or more of the following long-forgotten ancient Viking wedding traditions may add that unique flare you’re looking for.

Get Married on a Friday

This first Viking wedding tradition isn’t something you see, but something to be experienced Set the wedding date for a Friday. Since Friday was considered sacred to Figg (Frigga), the wife of Odin, the highest ranking of the Aesir goddesses, Viking weddings were held on Fridays.

    

Exchange Swords and Rings

The Viking groom presented his bride with the family’s ancestral sword along with the wedding ring on its hilt. The bride then presented the groom with her family’s ancestral sword with his ring on the hilt. Where did the groom’s family sword come from? Before the wedding, the groom broke into the grave of an ancestor to retrieve the sword. As he entered the grave and emerged with the sword, it symbolized his death as a boy and his new life as a man.

Grooms had to enter grave and emerge with ancestoral sword.

Escorting the Bride

Another custom involving the family sword deals with who escorted the bride. Instead of the father walking the bride down the “aisle,’ a younger male family member escorted the bride. This young male carried the sword to be presented to the groom.

Sounding of the Horn

This tradition works well for couples getting married at a lakeside venue. Historically the Viking groom went out on the lake in a boat with ten of his friends before the wedding. When the hunting horn sounded, they came back to shore to take part in the wedding. For a little added authenticity, you can look for a Viking boat to rent for the occasion but they are hard to find. 

While most people don’t reenact ancient wedding traditions exactly, it can be fun to modernized them for today. Getting married on a Friday is the easiest wedding custom on this list, and finding a young man of the family to escort the bride won’t take much work, but no one is going to rob a grave for a sword, so including the sword ceremony will require buying swords and rings (unless you have an ancestral family sword). 

The fun part for people who do introduce the sword ceremony into their wedding is that they will have a family sword to pass on to their children. And as for the boat arrival of a groom, this one takes the most work and requires a lakeside wedding venue, a hunting horn to blow, and the availability of a boat. Any boat can work, but if you really want a Viking replica, the Karvi, with 13 rowing benches is about the right size. These wooden boats have a shallow draft hull designed for speed that can make beach landings and can navigate waters only a meter deep. The problem is that Viking boats for rent are hard to find in the States, but you can find Viking boats for hire in the UK. If you know of other places to find Viking boats for hire, please let me know in the comments.

For more  ideas for Viking traditions to include for your wedding, check out ancient-origins.net.

Vintage Handmade Ceremonial Viking Mead Drinking HornSet Of 4

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Kittens for brides a Viking wedding tradition?

As a cat owner, I read with interest that kittens were given to Viking brides by their husbands as a Viking wedding tradition. This tradition is thought to be rooted in Norse mythology and the goddess Freyja who, in the Norse mythos, rides in a chariot pulled by two cats. As a goddess she is associated with love, sex, beauty, and fertility as well as other things like war, death, and gold. I set out to find out if this kittens for Viking brides as a wedding gift is a fact, fiction, or somewhere in-between.

Giving of kittens Viking wedding tradition

I have found two variations of the giving of kittens as an ancient Viking wedding tradition. The thing both of these variations have in common is that the kittens were given to a new bride to help set up her new household. On the practical side, they helped take care of rats, and on the mythos side, cats were associated with the goddess of love, Freyja, who received two cats as a gift from Thor. These cats were blue or gray and pulled her chariot.

• Members of the community gave the bride a kitten or kittens.
• The groom gave the bride a kitten

Learning from Freyja’s cats

We are introduced to Freyja’s Cats in a description of Freyja found in Of Freyr and Freyja, “When she goes forth, she drives her cats and sits in a chariot.” While cats are found in prose like this, it turns out that cats were uncommon in Iceland even in medieval times. In the Norse world, the use of the cat, for the most part, has ritualistic connotations, so I looked into Freyja’s Cats to see if I could find a direct link to this goddess and any wedding tradition related to kittens or cats. 

 

 

As I searched through archaeological evidence, I didn’t find a picture stone, rune stone, or tapestry showing evidence of a Viking wedding related to a kitten or cat. In sagas, cats tended to be portrayed as harmful forces which wouldn’t make for a good wedding gift. On the other hand, in Brenda Prehal’s Freyja's Cats: Perspectives on Recent Viking Age Finds in Þegjandadalur North Iceland she points out that “Cats were rare, especially in Iceland, expensive, and connected with the most powerful Norse goddess, Freyja, as well as her magic.” That could make them a coveted wedding gift.

If you know of a source showing cats given as gifts to brides in the Viking culture, please let me know. I'd love to hear from you. 

Cat Bobble Head Ring Holder

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Celtic wedding rings an ancient yet modern choice

Wedding rings have no beginning or end, but as a circle are a symbol of endless love. For couples who want to build on that symbolism, Celtic wedding rings designed around ancient Celtic knots are a popular choice. 

What is a Celtic knot?

Celtic knots are ancient in origin. Some historians argue that Celtic knots can be dated back as far as 500 B.C. but evidence to support this view is scarce. However, evidence is clear that Celtic knots existed as early as the third century A.D. So that's when they started, but what are they and what do they mean?

Celtic knots are composed of complete loops designed with a single thread. That thread has no beginning or end – no loose ends. They symbolize the interconnection of life and eternity. On a wedding band, these loops are said to represent eternal loyalty, faith, friendship or love.The most popular Celtic rings, claddagh rings, are among the earliest rings crafted of gold. Aside from the claddagh ring, wedding rings sporting Celtic knot designs also make popular choices because these knots represent common themes of loyalty, faith, friendship or love.

Claddagh ring meaning

The Claddagh ring design includes two hands holding a heart between them, with a crown above the heart. The hands represent friendship, the heart symbolizes love and the meaning of the crown is loyalty. One of the reasons this ring is so popular is that it can be worn as an engagement ring or a wedding band. As an engagement ring, the claddagh ring is worn on the left hand with the heart facing outward. Once married, it is worn with the heart facing inward. Traditionally, a claddagh ring is passed from mother to daughter.

Celtic Love Knot Ring

Celtic love knot ring

The love knot is comprised of interlacing knots which represent the love between two people. It is thought that the Celts exchanged these knots similarly to the way we exchange rings today. The Celtic oval knot is one of the oldest designs and perfect for those who want a simple ring design.

Celtic spiral knot

The Celtic spiral knot is a three-sided knot which stands for: water, fire and earth. The spiral itself is considered a sacred symbol which signifies the journey of life as it unfolds and the continuous line design of the spiral knot represents oneness of spirit and unity. Perfect for a new couple as they stand at the threshold of life together. 

Celtic Trinity Wedding Ring

Trinity wedding ring meaning

Christian influence on the Celtic civilization can also been seen in designs like the Trinity knot which is also known as the Triquetra. This is another very popular design choice for modern wedding bands among Christians. The curving lines of the Triquetra represent faith in God with the three points signifying the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

When choosing the metal to craft your Celtic wedding ring, if you want to go with tradition you have plenty of leeway in making a choice based on your preference because the ancient Celts wore jewelry crafted from bronze, gold, tin, silver, coral and enamel.

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Ancient Egyptian wedding customs

While the origin of wedding rings can be traced back to ancient Egypt, you may be surprised to learn that in ancient Egypt there was no wedding ceremony. Instead, marriages were most often arranged by the parents with goals of personal advancement or stability. Back then, the “men” usually married between the ages of 16-20, or when he could earn money to provide for his family. Women, or I should say girls, commonly married at 13 or closely after puberty. So instead of a ceremony, there was an agreement and when the bride entered the groom's house and the agreed price or goods were exchanged, they were married.

Bride price

The groom’s father was the one who wrote up the marriage “settlement” or contract which was signed in front of witnesses before marriage could even be considered. This agreement included the bride price (payment made by the groom or his family to the bride’s parents), and also included pre-nuptial agreements as to how things would be divided if divorce did enter the picture.

 

Purpose of marriage in ancient Egypt

While marriage in ancient Egypt seems more like a business deal by today’s standards, the purpose of marriage in ancient Egypt was to have children. Along with that, it was hoped, and even expected, that the husband and wife would grow to love and honor one another. So, ideally, an ancient Egyptian marriage relationship was one where the couple remained faithful and produced offspring. I guess you could say, they had the same hopes and aspirations as many brides and grooms in modern times.

How did ancient Egyptians handle divorce?

Ancient Egyptian women were not treated as property by their husbands (like ancient Grecian woman) and so they had the right to divorce and remarry. Divorce happened much the same way as the marriage with a new agreement to end the marriage. This divorce could be asked for by either of the spouses, and a new agreement was signed agreeing to the dividing of material possessions based on the prenuptial agreement. Once it was signed, the marriage was over. But with divorce in ancient Egypt, the woman left the relationship with the children. They belonged to her.

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