Witty Little Knitter

This book sounded really interesting and it sort of is. I mean it is written in a somewhat more dry and academic style than I had expected but that doesn't bother me that much.

What annoys me are the repetitions.

The repetitions really annoy me.

First there's a short introduction that establishes that marriage-customs change (no really?) and that in the middle-ages there wouldn't necessarily have been any written documentations on a marriage and that it wasn't even necessary that a priest or any witness was present during the marriage for it to be valid. Also English monarchs didn't always marry other royalty but sometimes 'just' nobility.

Then there's a second introductory chapter that says basically the same in different words.

Then the first marriages are examined. There are no written records of them because did you know that in the middle ages marriages weren't recorded. Also this marriage was held in front of the church and not in the church because did you know that wedding traditions change? By the way in that time it wouldn't even have been required to be anywhere near a church because priests were not compulsory for the wedding. And from this picture we can see that the bride was wearing a ring but the groom wasn't because did you know that wedding traditions have changed in the last 1000 years.

WHAT? REALLY I WOULD NEVER HAVE GUESSED!

And then there is - I kid you not - a 'what have we learned so far'-chapter THAT JUST SUMS THE WHOLE THING UP AGAIN. LIKE DID YOU KNOW THAT PRIESTS WEREN'T NECESSARY FOR WEDDINGS? DID YOU KNOW THAT? I BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT! ALSO WEDDING TRADITIONS HAVE CHANGED!