Probert, Rebecca (2005) Chinese whispers and Welsh weddings. Continuity and Change, Vol.20 (No.2). pp. 211-228. doi:10.1017/S0268416005005539 ISSN 0268-4160.

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Abstract

It has been claimed that in the late eighteenth century sixty per cent of couples in the Welsh village of Llansantffraid Glyn Ceiriog married by jumping over a broomstick, and a number of commentators have inferred that informal marriage was widespread in this period. Yet an examination of the primary and secondary sources shows that both the initial claim and subsequent speculations are based on ‘Chinese whispers’ rather than evidence. This casts a new light on the way in which people reacted to the 1753 Marriage Act, and illustrates how myths may be created through uncritical reliance on secondary sources.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	K Law [LC] > KD England and Wales D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Law
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Marriage law -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century -- Historiography, Marriage customs and rites -- Wales -- History, Rumor -- Great Britain, Glyn Ceiriog (Wales) -- Social life and customs -- 18th century, Wales -- Social life and customs -- 18th century
Journal or Publication Title:	Continuity and Change
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
ISSN:	0268-4160
Official Date:	August 2005
Dates:	Date Event August 2005 Published
Volume:	Vol.20
Number:	No.2
Page Range:	pp. 211-228
DOI:	10.1017/S0268416005005539
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access (Creative Commons)

Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge

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