Sarah’s notes: Here’s an interesting article that briefly touches on the history of the best man in ancient days. I know that this website is mainly about the maid of honor, but I’m always interested in helping anyone looking for speech information of any kind.
The History of the Best Man in Weddings
It has long been a tradition at a classic wedding ceremony that the best man stands to address the newly married couple and guests with a speech. This speech extols the joys of marriage and the worthy attributes of the newly wedded pair who are sure to live happily ever after in married bliss.
Of course it does not always turn out that way, but at the time, the best man did his part by following tradition and countless of others before him.
This tradition dates back to the sixth century, although probably long before that, when Germanic tribesmen went searching for a bride from a neighboring clan. They would do this because women from his tribe were too old, too young, or simply scarce. This was a very common practice throughout ancient history.
Many of the neighboring tribes did try to maintain a code of civility, as living in peace was a lot easier than being at odds and taking up arms, which happened all too often, anyway.
But even in times of peace, sometimes (but not always) the rogue bride seeker was met with opposition, especially if the bride-to-be had already been betrothed to another from within her own clan.
Conquering the prize, a woman to warm a man’s bed at night, after all the winters are long in this part of the world, meant that the spoils went to the victor. But only the mightiest man with his “best man” by his side, (meaning warrior friend) could meet his foe head on.
One of two occurrences took place:
- Either the intended bride remained with her kin and the intruders were driven back from where they came…
- Or the prize, the bride-to-be, would be whisked away to a new home and a new tribe because the intruder was able to withstand the forces against him, along with his trusted ally (his best man) by his side.
And then of course from there the other customs for which the best man has become known, when he was no longer needed to help his friend steal a woman, has evolved over time.
It is now customary and a common ritual at weddings for the best man, in these more peaceful and refined times, to be the guardian of the ring and to give a speech aloud in honor of the couple and their guests.
Now if you’re a best man and you have your buddy’s wedding coming up, and you’re looking for some best man speech examples, then visit Best Man Speech Insights right now and pick yourself up a copy of this ebook package. It’s got 25 speeches along with templates to help you write an amazing speech in less than an hour.
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