Gretna Green

Gretna Green
   The reputation of this Scottish village as a place where runaway English couples could marry dates from 1754, when clandestine marriages were forbidden throughout England, only those where banns had been published or a special licence obtained being valid. The law did not apply to Scotland, so couples hastened to various villages just across the Border, where they could be instantly married by simple declaration in front of witnesses. At Gretna, the best known, the ceremony took place in the toll-house till 1826, and thereafter in the village hall; it could be conducted by anyone - toll-keeper, ferryman, innkeeper, blacksmith - but popular memory remembers the blacksmith alone, alleging that the couple had to join hands over the anvil, while he waved his hammer over them. In 1856 Scottish law was amended to require three weeks' residence from couples seeking marriage, so instant weddings were no longer possible, but Gretna's well-publicized romantic image still draws many to marry there.

A Dictionary of English folklore. . 2014.

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  • Gretna Green — Koordinaten 55° 0′ N, 3° 4′ W …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Gretna-Green — (Gretnä Grihn) od. Graithneygreen, Pfarrdorf in der schott. Grafschaft Dumfries, berüchtigt durch die dort stattfindenden Trauungen ohne Einwilligung der Eltern u. Vormünder. Die Ehe gilt nämlich nach dem schott. calvin. Glauben nicht als… …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Gretna-Green — (spr. grettna grīn, Graitnay), Dorf in der schott. Grafschaft Dumfries, 15 km nordwestlich von Carlisle, dicht an der englischen Grenze, mit (1891) 1141 Einw., war einstmals berühmt als Zufluchtsort solcher, die ohne Zustimmung ihrer Eltern oder… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Gretna Green — (spr. grettnĕ grihn), Dorf in der schott. Grafsch. Dumfries, früher Zufluchtsort derer, die nach dem in Schottland gültigen kanonischen Recht sich ohne Einwilligung der Eltern ehelich verbinden wollten, was vor dem dortigen Friedensrichter… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Gretna Green — town in Scotland just across the border, proverbial from late 18c. as the customery place for English couples to run off and be married without parental consent …   Etymology dictionary

  • Gretna Green — [gret′nə] border village in Scotland, where, formerly, many eloping English couples went to be married: used figuratively of any similar village or town …   English World dictionary

  • Gretna Green — infobox UK place country = Scotland official name= Gretna Green gaelic name= scots name= latitude=55.002 longitude= 3.066 os grid reference= NY318680 population= unitary scotland= Dumfries and Galloway lieutenancy scotland= Dumfries post town=… …   Wikipedia

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  • Gretna Green — a village in S Scotland, near the English border, to which many English couples formerly eloped to be married. * * * ▪ Scotland, United Kingdom       village in Dumfries and Galloway council area, historic county of Dumfriesshire, Scotland. It… …   Universalium

  • Gretna Green — Gret|na Green a village in southern Scotland on the border with England. Until 1940, the marriage laws were less strict in Scotland than in England, and so many young English couples, whose parents did not want them to marry, ran away to get… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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