A Quirky Scot’s Law Made “Highlander’s Hope” Possible.
When Yvette Stapleton finds herself married to Laird Ewan McTavish, without benefit of a marriage ceremony, she’s more than a bit put out. In fact, it nearly destroys her trust in him and adds a delicious helping of conflict to my story.
My quandary was how to get Yvette married to Ewan without her knowing it. She isn’t simpleminded or witless.
Was it possible to simply say you were married in 1817 Scotland and, poof, you were indeed legally married? Would the marriage be recognized by the Church of Scotland?
Those are the thoughts that sprang into my mind one day while contemplating the dilemma. I wasn’t considering handfasting either, which, by the 18th century, was no longer recognized by the Kirk (Church) of Scotland.
No, I needed something recognized by the Scot’s Church. I starting digging into
Scot’s marriage laws of the 1800s and was pleased-as-punch to come across Scottish Canon Code and irregular marriages. In essence, anyone could perform a marriage ceremony as long as the parties involved expressed consent to the union, either in person or in writing.
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| Excerpt from Scottish Canon Code |
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| Famous Gretna Green Anvil |
Most romance readers are familiar with Gretna Green, and the romantic notion of couples trotting off to Scotland to get married, literally over a blacksmith’s anvil.
Irregular and clandestine marriages (those not performed by a cleric of the church) included simply agreeing to take one another as husband and wife before two witnesses (Gretna Green), cohabitating in Scotland under the ruse of being wed, and finally, by merely declaring you were married, even if no ceremony had taken place. You could also agree to marriage in writing with express consent. There was no particular form either verbally or written that was required for the marriage to be valid and binding.
I arranged for Yvette and Ewan to claim they were married in the midst of a very dangerous situation in order to prevent Yvette from being ravished. I reinforced it by having Ewan declare to several kin and clan members that he and Yvette were married, and then I had them cohabitate at Craiglocky Keep under the guise of marriage.
Just and aside, Gretna Green is still a wildly popular marriage venue in Scotland. I have an unmarried daughter. She wants to get married in Scotland. . .
