Simple(?) explanation

[peteroot]

Please help me understand the following:

"Records of marriage licences provide information concerning some Church of Ireland marriages before 1845.
People wishing to obtain a licence to marry without having banns called were required to enter into a bond with the bishop of the diocese."

I can understand the text as such, but not the actual meaning of the second part - enter into a bond ?
The license to marry did exist here in Sweden also, but the "bond" thing I can't imagine what it is. Can someone explain ?









 

[stanmapstone]

Welcome to Rootschat,

A visit to the clergyman issuing the licence resulted in three documents, an allegation or affidavit, a marriage bond and the licence. The actual licence was issued to the bridegroom who presented it to the priest conducting the marriage. The licence could then have been kept by the priest, or returned to the diocesan registries, or given to the couple on their wedding day and kept within the family, but usually does not survive. The allegation and bond would filed in the Diocesan Registry. After 1823 bonds ceased to be necessary.
See http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,438148.msg3016813.html#msg3016813
and http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,308539.msg1898468.html#msg1898468

Stan

[peteroot]

Thanks Stan,
That made it a bit less confusing. One question remain, though. If I get it right(and in very simple terms), the Bond is a declaration by the supposed groom that the intended marriage is, to his knowledge, "ok". The declaration is signed under threat of penalty, in this case £200.

Then, there's the allegation/affidavit which,to me, is pretty much the same ?

Supposedly I am missing something due to the legal wording; this is certainly not everyday language, at least not to me.....
Peter
 

[stanmapstone]

Basically the Allegation, or affidavit, is the application for the licence in which it was sworn, usually by the groom, that there was no lawful impediment to the marriage. The bond was a promise by two people, normally the groom and a relative, that they would pay the Church a substantial sum of money if the marriage proved invalid in the eyes of God and the law. Such bonds became compulsory from 1579, although not all dioceses asked for them. As I said they were no longer required after the Marriage Act of 1823.

Stan

[hiraeth]

Are there any recorded cases where the Bond was called upon?