Marriage in Byzantium
Christian Liturgical Rites from Betrothal to Consummation

A history of the Byzantine wedding process, from engagement ceremonies to the church marriage service and domestic consummation rituals.

Gabriel Radle (Author)

9781009469562, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 January 2025

468 pages, 35 colour illus.
25.1 x 17.1 x 3.1 cm, 0.97 kg

''Marriage in Byzantium' is a study of the highest quality, and it should remain required reading for anyone interested in Byzantine or medieval marriage, family, liturgical studies and many others for years to come.' Nathan Leidholm, Journal of Medieval History

Across cultures, weddings have historically represented some of the most important and extravagant celebrations. This is the first comprehensive study of marriage rituals in the Eastern Mediterranean world of Byzantine Christianity. Using a large corpus of unedited liturgical manuscripts as well as other evidence from jewelry and law to visual representations and theological treatises, Gabriel Radle reconstructs the ceremonies used by the Byzantines to formalize the marriage process, from betrothal to rites of consummation. He showcases the meanings behind rituals of kinship formation and sexual relations and explores how the practice of Byzantine Christianity crossed fluid borders between the church and the domestic sphere. The book situates the development of Byzantine Christian marriage traditions alongside those of other religious communities and, in placing liturgical manuscripts at the heart of this study, paves new methodological paths for the use of ritual sources in the writing of Byzantine history.

Introduction
Part I. The Christianization of Ancient Marriage Ritual: 1. Pre-Christian Marriage Ritual in the Mediterranean World
2. Early Christian Weddings in the Eastern Mediterranean
Part II. Byzantine Marriage Rituals Before and Beyond the Liturgical Books: 3. Marriage Ritual in Law and Literature
4. Marriage in Visual and Material Evidence
Part III. Marriage Rites in Byzantine Liturgical Manuscripts: 5. The Byzantine Euchologion: Sources and Methods
6. Rites of Betrothal
7. Rites of Marriage
8. Rites of the Bridal Chamber
Conclusion: Byzantine Marriage Beyond Byzantium
Appendix I. Chronological List of Manuscripts Consulted
Appendix II. Sample of Marriage Rites in the Manuscript Sources.

Subject Areas: European history [HBJD]