ESSENTIAL SCOTTISH KNOW-HOW
An 1804 map of Scotland and a 1790 marriage record from the ScotlandsPeople website
Ahuge historic difference between Scotland and the rest of the UK has been the law surrounding marriage. In this article I will provide an overview on how things were done north of the border, both before and after the introduction of civil registration in Scotland in 1855, and show what to look for in the marriage records on the ScotlandsPeople website and elsewhere.
Like other UK countries, Scotland historically had marriages that were ‘regular’ or ‘irregular’. A regular marriage was carried out by a Church of Scotland minister after the prior calling of banns in one or both spouse’s parishes on three successive Sundays. From such weddings the Kirk would earn ‘proclamation money’ or ‘pledge money’, an important contribution to parochial funds. Although marriage registers are included, the Old Parish Registers (OPRs) on the ScotlandsPeople pay-per-view website at www.scotlandspeople.co.uk may show the payment of this sum as the only evidence of marriage, but just because the banns were called, this does not necessarily mean the wedding happened. If their first child was subsequently shown to be ‘lawful’, however, that provides confirmation. For some weddings the session could ask for someone to stand as ‘cautioner’ (pronounced ‘kayshoner’), essentially to act as guarantor, and to pay a deposit to ensure that the occasion would be solemn. A real worry for both the Kirk and local landowners was that festivities might be undertaken via a ‘penny wedding’, in which folk would turn up, pay a penny, and then get drunk for several days to celebrate, with potentially all sorts of outrageous activities undertaken such as ‘promiscuous dancing’!