Heathen Weddings in the Lore

[Rick]

A friend asked me if I knew of any Lore sources (Eddas or Sagas), other than the story of Thor's hammer being stolen, that describes Heathen wedding customs and/or rites. So, I bring the question to you...

P.S. We are familiar with Swain's wedding (in fact, my friend & I both have used it as the foundation of a couple of heathen weddings that we each have performed), as well as a couple of others that are posted online. We were wondering about historical references...

[Gyda]

I don't think I've ever run across Heathen weddings in Lore out side of Thor's Hammer being stolen.

Gyda

[S_Wodening]

I have never been able to find any instances of a wedding in the lore, only the circumstances surrounding it. For example in Tacticus' Germania, it is mentioned that cattle were used for the bride price. There are several other instances like this in the sagas, Saxo, and the lawcodes. Several weddings are mentioned in Njal's Saga, and each mentions the circumstances leading up to the wedding. Unfortunately, none mentions the wedding ceremony its self.My wedding was based on the research of Gunnora, the Viking Answer Lady, and her research can be found at http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/wedding.shtml with additional material from research done by Winifred Hodge Rose.

[Rick]

Thanks, I shall pass it along.

[Hærfest Leah]

Geesh Rick I somehow missed the thread you started on this topic. I hope the information I gve you by email helped. I found more when doing my research paper. Other places for marriage information that I came across writing my research paper was:

Jesch, Judy. Women in The Viking Age. Rochester: Boydell Press, 2005
Jochens, Jenny. Norse Images of Women. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996
Jochens, Jenny. Women in Old Norse Society. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998


You can find a partial preview of two of the Jochens books on google-books. I think the Jesch book is on Questia.

[Rick]

Thanks!