Wedding sword
Wedding swords were ceremonial sidearms that were worn by the groom at the wedding ceremony in the area of the former Principality of Ratzeburg .
Custom
In the Principality of Ratzeburg, it was a tradition for farmers to wear a sword on their wedding day , which they also used to stand in front of the altar at the wedding ceremony . The so-called wedding sword was worn either on the side or under the arm and could be decorated with colored ribbons.
How old this custom was can no longer be determined; its origins are not documented and are not recorded even by oral tradition. Until around 1835 it was a general custom in the Principality of Ratzeburg for peasant weddings for the groom to wear the wedding sword, after which the custom began to fade. The last known use of a wedding sword is for Schlagsdorf in 1859.
At least the wedding swords worn in the 19th century were not specially made ornamental weapons that were designed in a special way, but former military weapons. Three of these wedding swords were still in the Schönberger Heimatmuseum in 1934 .
interpretation
According to older interpretations, wearing the sword was meant to emphasize that the groom was a free man and not a serf . This interpretation was also based on the fact that the farmers of the surrounding area of Mecklenburg-Schwerin were mostly in a relationship of inheritance and only wore rods instead of swords at their weddings, since they were not allowed to carry weapons as unfree.
This interpretation was later rejected, however, as it is not understandable why the status of a peasant as a free man should only be demonstrated at the wedding, but not on other occasions. It is more likely, also by comparison with similar customs in other areas, that it was a remnant of real armament that was used in earlier times by the groom and other male wedding guests to prevent the bride from being robbed by criminals or envious opponents. The symbolic defense against evil spirits on the way to the ceremony also played a role.
Wedding swords in other regions
The use of wedding swords is also documented in Estonia , where they only went out of use towards the end of the 19th century; among the Swedish inhabitants of the island of Ruhnu they were still common until the 1930s. In Rottenburg , one of the bridal guides carried the wedding sword during the wedding ceremony in the church.
literature
- J. Warncke: The wedding sword . In: Heimatblätter - messages from the Association for Home Protection Lübeck . No. 109, January 31, 1934
- Fr. Buddin: Ratzeburg bridal crowns . In: Local calendar for the Principality of Ratzeburg , Schönberg 1922
- Pictures from the folk life of the Ratzeburg country , volume 1. Verlag von Emil Hempel, Schönberg 1920