Just a couple of bullet points on the messages: Scottish Civil Law was based largely on the pre-Reformation Canon Law - e.g. changes were that marriage was not a sacrament, relationships by affinity (e.g. marriage to sister-in-law) and consanguinity were limited. Subsequent changes were: - Deceased’s Wife’s Sisters Marriage Act 1907- Deceased Brother’s Marriage Act 1921- Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Act 1931 whichlegalised marriage between a man and his deceased wife’s niece, widow of his deceased uncle, his deceased wife’s aunt, and his deceased wife’s widow.- Family Law (Scotland) Act 2005 where a person can now marry their mother-in-law or father-in-law where death or divorce has ended the original marriage. Marriage by 'Repute' was a proof of marriage in civil disputes and not a form of marriage. The most recent cases I have found are an unsuccessful case in 2000 Ackerman vs, Blackburn http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/019_13_98.html and a successful one Doherty vs Vosilius http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/08_3_96.html The web site for the Scottish Law Commission's Report on Family Law of 1992 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library2/doc11/rfl-03.asp states that "There are never more than a few declarators of marriage by cohabitation with habit and repute per year. The cases I have seen of the Kirk requiring a couple irregularly married to go through another ceremony are few and limited to the generation after the Presbyterian Settlement of 1689/1690. After that it was usually a fine and a penance, and no second ceremony. There was also civil legislation on irregular marriage but this was haphazardly enforced, and often the concern was about the celebrations rather than the marriage. The suggestion that the bride's fertility was tested prior to marriage is one of those theories proposed by economic historians, especially of the Borders, that has little contemporary evidence. Basically it is an attempt to explain the 'high' percentage of brides who were pregnant at time of marriage using economic factors. Proving a marriage by future promise and consummation can lead to quite graphic records as to how the consummation was proved, illustrating how little privacy existed. More often the 'evidence' of consummation was the birth of a child and the Kirk would investigate whether this was ante-nuptial fornication or fornication. Unlike England & Wales, an illegitimate child was legitimised by the subsequent marriage of their parents if they had been free to marry at the time of conception. This was important in some inheritance disputes, especially where the child could claim to have dual nationality. Parental consent was not a requirement for a marriage to be valid. There was no minimum age (though usually considered to be about 12) until the Age of Marriage Act 1929 - the couple had to be capable of a rational decision. Most first marriages were, however, much later: 25/26 for the woman and 28/30 for the man. Scots law was 'revised ' in the 19th and 20th centuries to bring it into line with that of England & Wales. A second -hand copy of a Legal text book published before 1920 is an inexpensive way of learning more. e.g. Walton on Husband and Wife. Other material for those who want to learn more include: www.gla.ac.uk/departments/scottishwayofbirthanddeath/marriage/ 'Handfasting' in Scotland by A. E. Anton in The Scottish Historical Review, Vol. 37, No. 124, Part 2 (Oct., 1958), pp. 89-102Promises, Promises: Marriage Litigation in Scotland 1698-1830 by Leah LenemanWilliam Hay's Lectures on Marriage. Stair Society 1967. He was a lecturer at Aberdeen and died in 1542 so this shows marriage law before the Reformation. The Latin is translated.Covering a later period is Scottish Church Attitudes to Sex, Marriage, and the Family 1850-1914 by Kenneth Boyd. Edinburgh, 1980. John