f the twelfth century,
mention is made of priestly benediction; still it remains uncertain
whether this took place before or after _concubitus_. In the great epics
of the thirteenth century the old custom of the circle of friends and
the interrogatories by a distinguished relative appears. The couple
spend the night together and on the following morning go to church where
they are blessed.[1372] This is the proceeding in Lohengrin. In the
thirteenth century the prolocutor was going out of fashion and the
ecclesiastic got a chance to take his place.[1373] Evidently there was
here an ambiguity between the betrothal and the wedding. It took two or
three centuries to eliminate it. When the man said, "I will take," did
he mean, "It is my will to take now," or did he mean, "I will take at a
future time"? Sohm[1374] says that betrothal was the real conclusion of
a marriage, and that the wedding was only the confirmation (_Vollzug_)
of a marriage already consummated. Friedberg[1375] says that the wedding
was the conclusion of a projected marriage and not the consummation of
one already concluded. When there was a solemn public betrothal and then
a wedding after an interval of time, the latter was plainly a repetition
which had no significance. What happened finally was that the betrothal
fell into insignificance, or was united with the wedding as in the
modern Anglican service, and _concubitus_ was allowed only after the
wedding. The wedding then had importance, and was not merely a blessing
on a completed fact. It was then a custom in all classes to try life
together before marriage (_Probenaechte_). In the fifteenth century, if
kings were married by proxy, the proxy slept with the bride, with a
sword between, _before_ the church ceremony.[1376] The custom to
celebrate marriages without a priest lasted, amongst the peasants of
Germany, until the sixteenth century.[1377] "It was, therefore,
customary [in the thirteenth century] to have the church blessing, but
generally only after consummated marriage. The blessing was not
essential, but was considered appropriate and proper, especially in the
higher classes. In the fourteenth century the ecclesiastical form won
more and more sway over the popular sentiment."[1378]

+434. Church marriage. Concubines.+ It is necessary to notice that there
is never any question of the status of men. They satisfy their interests
as well as they can and the result is the stage of civilization. The