Some Somerset betrothals in the 1530s

Betrothals were taken more seriously in the Middle Ages than today. They were often regarded as a form of marriage and unbreakable even though they took place not at the church door as is often supposed but in private houses or the open air.

No doubt most betrothals were followed by weddings but sometimes there were problems.

A few cases from the 1530s throw up interesting variations in a custom that seems to have affected rich and poor alike.