No Married Persons

[Faramir Jones]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

Thinking back to the thread title, "No Married Persons", I think the question also needs to be asked, just how were folks in Middle-earth "married" if there were no churches, no religion, no priests/ministers?

We know the customs of the elves and what Tolkien says about elven marriage and sexual intercourse. But I can't think of any discussion of how hobbits set up domestic life together. What constituted "marriage" in Gondor and Numenor? Did the Rohirrim have wedding vows? Dwarves would seem to be a big blank.

Faramir uses the word 'wed' with Eowyn and we are told that Aragorn and Arwen are wed, but the precise nature of the ritual or ceremony is not shown, except that Elrond places their hands together. Faramir and Eowyn seem to have great mixing of hair.

It is simply a public declaration of their troth without formal ceremony? Is that what constitutes marriage in Middle-earth?

It's fair to assume that, in Numenor and in the Realms in Exile, the customs of the elves were followed, including those concerning marriage. Certainly, the marriage of Aragorn and Arwen would have been in the elvish fashion.

The Rohirrim, at least at the top of society, might have followed Gondorian, and therefore elvish custom, including the marriage of Thengel with Morwen, a Gondorian woman; but when we go to people like hobbits, let alone dwarves, we know nothing.