The exact practice depended on the denomination of the church, local
laws and some times on era (17th century, 18th century, etc.), but in
general the practice of "reading the banns" or "posting the banns" was
something like this.
When a couple wanted to get married, the parish priest (or the minister
of their church) would announce this intent to the entire congregation
at Sunday service usually 3 to 5 weeks in advance of the intended
wedding date, and again each following Sunday. If anyone knew of any
impediment to the marriage (too closely related, previously married,
etc.) they were supposed to speak up. (I guess our "Speak now or forever
hold your peace..." is the modern equivalent.) If the bride and groom
were from different parishes (churches) the banns were supposed to be
read in both. Occasionally banns were read in neighboring parishes, as
well. As I said, exact practice depended a lot on local laws and customs.
As far as finding out more about specific banns, I would guess they
might be recorded in church records or in the private records of the
priest or minister who read them.
Reading (or Posting) the banns was also considered a binding contract to
marry, and if either party backed out without due cause the other could
sue for breach of promise. If this happened I imagine there would also
be court records of those proceedings.
Hope this helps!
Barbara Tysinger
(Searching: Tysinger, Caudle, Westmoreland, Hutchins, Kanoy, & Williams)
email: Barbara_Tysinger(a)mindspring.com
wiseowl wrote:
What the reading of the Banns consisted of and if there is a way to
find out more about the banns??//
Paul