Hereford Missal: Ordo ad facienda sponsalia (printed 1502)

The Order for Making Espousals

Although matrimony may be contracted at any time of the year when lawful consent in words of the present is given, the solemnising of matrimony is forbidden at certain times, as the verse shows (Aspicies, veterem, circum, qua, ro, benedicta): that is, from Advent inclusive until after the octave of the Epiphany; from Septuagesima until after the octave of Easter, that is Low Sunday; and from the first day of the Rogations, the Monday, until the seventh day after Pentecost exclusive, for on that eighth day matrimony may be celebrated. At other times of the year the solemnity of marriage may lawfully be held.

The man and the woman shall be set before the door of the church, the man on the left of the woman and the woman on the right of the man, before the priest vested in amice, alb, maniple and stole.

First the priest shall inquire, both of the man and of the woman and of those standing by, whether this union can be made between them: that is, that they are not joined by kinship or any spiritual bond, nor the man has made a marriage contract with another woman, nor the woman with another man.

(A manuscript Hereford Missal at University College, Oxford, gives a shorter form: When the bridegroom and bride are gathered at the church with their parents, friends and neighbours, the priest first asks whether they are fit persons to marry, not forbidden by kinship, affinity or troth given elsewhere. That known, the priest declares the law of marriage: that the two shall be one flesh, each bound to keep the other in health and in sickness, and that for no cause may they be separated. Then, according to the custom of the province, money and a ring of gold or silver are brought forward, and the man gives the woman her dower. The priest asks: Man, wilt thou have this woman joined to thee? He answers: I will. Woman, wilt thou have this man coupled to thee? She answers: I will. Then the woman is given by her father or friends into the man's right hand, her hand bare if a maiden, covered if a widow, and he says: I take thee for my spouse; and she answers: I take thee for my spouse. These words are said plainly in the mother tongue, as in the vows below, and they are the sacramental words.)

The Consent

Then the priest, naming the man, shall ask him: N., wilt thou have this woman, and take her as thy lawful wife, and keep her as a Christian man ought to keep his spouse, in God's faith and thine, as well in sickness as in health? He answers: I will. And he shall ask the same of the woman: whether she will have this man for her lawful spouse, and keep him as a Christian woman ought to keep her spouse, in God's faith and hers, as well in sickness as in health? She answers: I will.

The Giving and the Vows

Then the man shall give the woman her dower, and the ring and silver or gold or other things shall be laid on the book. Then the father or a kinsman of the woman shall receive her and give her to the man, her hand bare if a maiden, covered if a widow. The man shall receive her, to keep her in God's faith and his own, in health and in sickness, and hold her by the right hand in his right hand, and say in the mother tongue after the priest:

I, N., undertake thee, N., for my wedded wife, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death us depart, as holy Church hath ordained, and thereto I plight thee my troth.

And again she shall take him by the right hand in her right hand and say after the priest: I, N., undertake thee, N., for my wedded husband, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to be buxom to thee, till death us depart, as holy Church hath ordained, and thereto I plight thee my troth.

After this the priest shall say: Command thy strength, O God: stablish the thing, O God, that thou hast wrought in us (Psalm 68:28–30). Glory be to the Father. As it was. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Let us bless the Father and the Son with the Holy Spirit: let us praise and exalt him for ever. Let us praise the Lord, whom the angels praise: whom Cherubim and Seraphim proclaim, Holy, Holy, Holy. Lord, hear my prayer. And let my cry come unto thee. The Lord be with you. And with thy spirit.

The Ring

The blessing over the ring. Creator and preserver of mankind, giver of spiritual grace, bestower of eternal salvation: send thou, O Lord, thy blessing upon this ring, that she who wears it may be armed with the strength of heavenly defence, and that it may profit her to eternal salvation. Through Christ. Bless, O Lord, this ring, which we bless in thy holy name, that whosoever wears it may stand fast in thy peace, abide in thy will, and live and grow and grow old in thy love, and be multiplied unto length of days. Through our Lord.

Here the priest shall sprinkle holy water on the ring, and afterwards the bridegroom shall take the ring with his three principal fingers; and it is to be known that by custom the ring is never put on the finger unless this is first said: With this ring I espouse thee, with this gold and silver I endow thee, and with my body I honour thee. Or he may say in the mother tongue, after the priest: With this ring I thee wed, and this gold and silver I thee give, and with my body I thee honour. (The manuscript reads: With this ring I thee espouse, and with this gold and silver I thee dower, and with my body I thee honour.)

Afterwards the bridegroom shall put the ring on the thumb, saying In the name of the Father; at the second finger, and of the Son; at the third finger, and of the Holy Ghost; at the fourth, Amen; and there it shall be left, according to the Decretum. The book explains: Isidore says the ring goes on the fourth finger, counting the thumb, because a vein runs from that finger to the heart, signifying the unity and perfection of love.

The book then discusses at length whether second marriages should be blessed, as in the York and Sarum books, concluding that the sacramental clause O God, who hast consecrated the union of marriage is omitted if either party has been married before, while the prayer Be propitious and all the other blessings are said; it gives the constitution of Pope John XXII (1321) allowing diocesans to absolve priests who blessed second marriages. This discussion is summarised here only.

Then, they bowing their heads, the priest shall say: Blessed be ye of the Lord, who made the world out of nothing. Amen. The Lord be with you. Let us pray. God of Abraham, God of Isaac and God of Jacob be with you, and himself join you together, and fulfil his blessing in you. Who liveth. Another prayer: The Lord the Father bless you, Jesus Christ keep you, the Holy Ghost enlighten you; the Lord show his face upon you and have mercy upon you; the Lord turn his countenance unto you and give you peace, and fill you with all spiritual blessing unto the remission of all your sins, that ye may have eternal life and live for ever and ever. Amen.

Into the Church

Here they shall enter the church (the manuscript adds: as far as the altar step), the priest and clerks saying the psalm Beati omnes, Blessed are all they that fear the Lord (Psalm 128), without note, to the end.

Then the man and woman shall kneel before the altar, and the priest, standing on the altar step with his face turned towards them, shall say: The Lord bless you out of Sion, that thou mayest see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel. Glory be to the Father. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Our Father. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. O save thy servant and thy handmaid: my God, who put their trust in thee. Send them help from the sanctuary: and strengthen them out of Sion. Be unto them, O Lord, a tower of strength: from the face of the enemy. Lord, hear my prayer: and let my cry come unto thee. The Lord be with you. Let us pray.

God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, bless these young people, and sow the seed of eternal life in their minds, that whatsoever they learn for their profit they may desire to do. Through Jesus Christ thy Son, the restorer of mankind.

Let us pray. Look mercifully, O Lord, upon this thy servant and this thy handmaid, that they may receive heavenly blessing in thy name, and see their sons' and daughters' children safe unto the third and fourth generation, persevere in thy will, and hereafter come to the heavenly kingdom. Through Christ.

Another prayer. Almighty, everlasting God, who by thy power didst create our first parents Adam and Eve, didst sanctify them with thy blessing and join them in the fellowship of love: may he sanctify and bless your hearts and bodies, and join you in the fellowship and love of true affection. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Another prayer. Look down, O Lord, from thy holy heaven upon this covenant; that as thou didst send thy holy angel Raphael, the peacemaker, to Tobias and to Sara the daughter of Raguel, so thou wouldest vouchsafe, O Lord, to send thy blessing upon these young people, that they may abide in thy will and live in thy love, and grow old, and be multiplied unto length of days. Through.

Another prayer. God almighty bless you with all heavenly blessing, and make you worthy in his sight; may the riches of his grace abound in you, and may he teach you in the word of truth, that you may please him alike in body and in mind. Through our Lord.

After this they shall be brought into the choir of the church and lie prostrate at the altar step, the woman set at the right hand of the man, with two candles in their hands. At the Mass the manner and order of double feasts is kept throughout; the fixed parts of the Mass are said as usual and are not repeated here.

The Nuptial Mass

Office: Blessed be the holy Trinity, as on Trinity Sunday (in Eastertide with Alleluia). Psalm: Let us bless the Father and the Son with the Holy Spirit. Glory be to God on high.

These two collects are said under one Let us pray and one Through our Lord: Almighty, everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the divine Majesty to worship the Unity: we beseech thee, that by stedfastness in the same faith we may evermore be defended from all adversities. Hear us, almighty and merciful God, that what is done by our ministry may rather be fulfilled by thy blessing. Through.

The Epistle, 1 Corinthians 6:15–20: Brethren, know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? … therefore glorify God, and bear him, in your body (read in full as in the Sarum order).

Gradual: Blessed art thou, O Lord, that beholdest the depths, and sittest upon the cherubim. Verse: Bless ye the God of heaven, for he hath shewed his mercy upon us. The gradual is repeated. Alleluia. Verse: Blessed art thou, O Lord God of our fathers, and worthy to be praised for ever. In Eastertide the second Alleluia is of Easter: The angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. Sequence: Alma chorus, as on the Monday after Pentecost (see the Sarum order).

The Gospel, Matthew 19:3–6: At that time the Pharisees came unto Jesus, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? … What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. The Creed.

Offertory: Blessed be God the Father, and the only-begotten Son of God, and the Holy Spirit also: for he hath shewed his mercy upon us. Secret: Sanctify, we beseech thee, O Lord our God, by the calling upon of thy holy name and by the power of thine only-begotten Son, the sacrifice of this oblation; and by the working together of the Holy Spirit make us ourselves through it an eternal gift unto thee. Another secret, beginning Be present, O Lord, to our supplications (Adesto, Domine), is not printed in full. Preface: Who with thine only-begotten Son (of the Trinity).

After Sanctus they shall lie prostrate in prayer at the altar step, with a pall spread over them, held at their backs by four clerks in surplices until The peace of the Lord. After Through all the ages of ages, before The peace of the Lord is said, when the host has been broken as usual and laid in three parts on the paten, the priest shall turn to them and, lifting his right hand over them, say these prayers in the tone of a lesson, they kneeling meanwhile: The Lord be with you. Let us pray.

Be propitious, O Lord, to our supplications, and graciously assist thine ordinances by which thou hast appointed the propagation of mankind; that what is joined by thy authority may be preserved by thy help. Through Christ our Lord.

Let us pray. O God, who by the might of thy power didst make all things out of nothing … (the nuptial blessing in full as in the Sarum order, ending: and come to the old age she desires). Be propitious is said over all who marry, even if one has been married before, for it is not forbidden in the decretals; but O God, who hast consecrated the union of marriage by so excellent a mystery is not said if either has been married before, since it is the sacramental blessing, which may in no way be repeated.

After this the priest shall turn to the altar and say The peace of the Lord, and Agnus Dei. Then the bridegroom and bride shall rise from prayer, and the bridegroom shall receive the peace from the priest and bear it to the bride, kissing her, and neither he nor she kisses anyone else; but a clerk after him receives the peace from the priest and bears it to the others in the usual way.

Communion: We bless the God of heaven, and before all the living we will give thanks unto him: for he hath shewed his mercy upon us. Postcommunion: May the receiving of this sacrament, O Lord God, profit us to the health of soul and body, together with the confession of the eternal holy Trinity and its undivided Unity. Another postcommunion, beginning Grant, we beseech thee, almighty God (Praesta, quaesumus), is not printed in full.

Afterwards the blessing shall be given with the chalice, thus: Our help is in the name of the Lord. Who hath made heaven and earth. Blessed be the name of the Lord. From this time forth for evermore. Let us pray. The blessing. The divine Majesty and one Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, bless you. Amen.

After the Mass

After Mass, bread and wine or some other good drink shall be brought in a vessel, and they shall taste it in the name of the Lord, the priest first saying: The Lord be with you. Bless, O Lord, this bread and this drink and this vessel, as thou didst bless the five loaves in the wilderness and the six waterpots in Cana of Galilee, that all who taste of them may be sound and sober and undefiled; O Saviour of the world, who livest and reignest.

On the following night, when the bridegroom and bride have come to bed, the priest shall come and bless the bedchamber, saying: The Lord be with you. Bless this chamber, O Lord, and all who dwell in it, that they may stand fast in thy peace and abide in thy will, and live and grow old in thy love, and be multiplied unto length of days. Through Christ our Lord.

Then the blessing over the bed: Bless, O Lord, this bedchamber, thou that neither slumberest nor sleepest. Thou that keepest Israel, keep thy servants resting in this bed from all the phantom illusions of devils; keep them waking, that they may meditate on thy commandments; sleeping, that they may perceive thee in their slumber; that here and everywhere they may be defended by the help of thy protection. Through our Lord.

Then the blessing over them: God bless your bodies and your souls, and give his blessing upon you, as he blessed Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Amen. The hand of the Lord be upon you, and may he send his holy angel to keep you all the days of your life. Amen. The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost bless you, who is three in number and one in name. Amen. When this is done the priest shall depart and dismiss them in peace.