12019-10-08T17:21:38+00:00Aine O'Connor8ce62b3bfcb93e1b8fd39aa23e8335701128e178Translation: The marriage of the Lutherans at Augsbourg.Aine O'Connor1plain2019-10-08T17:21:38+00:00Aine O'Connor8ce62b3bfcb93e1b8fd39aa23e8335701128e178
12019-10-31T18:32:13+00:00Aine O'Connor8ce62b3bfcb93e1b8fd39aa23e8335701128e178The bride and groom join their right hands.Aine O'Connor1plain2019-10-31T18:32:13+00:00Aine O'Connor8ce62b3bfcb93e1b8fd39aa23e8335701128e178
12019-10-14T17:17:44+00:00German Lutheran Marriage5plain2019-12-09T20:49:59+00:00Lutherans have many different marriage traditions, mostly based on location. Rather than combining them into one narrative, Bernard bounces around, offering commentary on as many as he can fit into several pages. Interestingly, though he often uses the names of cities to differentiate between marriage traditions, he never mentions Augsbourg within the lens of a nuptial ceremony. Thus, Picart seems to base his engraving off of a short description from the city of Danzig, a free state near Germany during the period.
The Dress: Bernard writes on the “solemn procession” of a Lutheran marriage, which involves all the witnesses walking “two by two” to the groom’s home, where the wedding will take place. The traditional dress for the bride is black, “but all the rest in gayest colors.” The Time: According to Bernard, a wedding like the one depicted at Augsbourg would take place “at night, in their own homes… the ceremony, however, is all the same.” These were “nobility and gentry,” wealthy people who could pay a presider to come into their homes to marry them. The opulent setting of Picart’s engraving also tips off the reader that these were not people of lower means.
