Engagement

An or betrothal is the period of time between a  and the  itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a ). During this period, a couple is said to be fiancés (from the French), betrothed, intended, affianced, engaged to be married, or simply engaged. Future and  may be called fiancée (feminine) or fiancé (masculine), the betrothed, a wife-to-be or husband-to-be, respectively. The duration of the courtship varies vastly, and is largely dependent on cultural norms or upon the agreement of the parties involved.

Long engagements are common in formal, and it is not uncommon for parents betrothing children to arrange marriages many years before the engaged couple were old enough.

Many traditional have optional rites for Christian betrothal (also known as ‘blessing an engaged couple’ or ‘declaration of intention‘) that  and ratify the intent of a couple to  before God and the.

Origin
The origins of engagement in marriage practice are found in the Jewish law, first exemplified by , and outlined in the last  tractate of the  (Women) order, where  consists of two separate acts, called ' (or kiddushin, meaning sanctification), which is the betrothal ceremony, and nissu'in or ', the actual. Erusin changes the couple's interpersonal status, while nissu'in brings about the legal consequences of the change of status. (However, in the Talmud and other sources of Jewish law there is also a process, called , corresponding to what today is called engagement. Marrying without such an agreement is considered immoral. To complicate matters, erusin in modern Hebrew means engagement, not betrothal.)

This was later adopted in Ancient Greece as the gamos and engeysis rituals, although unlike in Judaism the contract made in front of witness was only verbal. The giving of a ring was eventually borrowed from Judaism by Roman marriage law, with the fiancé presenting it after swearing the oath of marriage intent, and presenting of the gifts at the engagement party.

Betrothal
Betrothal (also called espousal) is a formal state of engagement to be.

Typical steps of a match were the following:
 * Negotiation of a match, usually done by the couple’s families with bride and groom having varying levels of input, from no input, to veto power, to a fuller voice in the selection of marriage partner.
 * Negotiation of or
 * Blessing by the parents and
 * Exchange of Vows and Signing of Contracts
 * Celebration

The exact duration of a betrothal varies according to culture and the participants’ needs and wishes. For adults, it may be anywhere from several hours (when the betrothal is incorporated into the wedding day itself) to a period of several years. A year and a day are common in groups today. In the case of, betrothal might last from infancy until the age of marriage.

The responsibilities and privileges of betrothal vary. In most cultures, the betrothed couple is expected to spend much time together, learning about each other. In some historical cultures (including ), the betrothal was essentially a trial marriage, with marriage only being required in cases of conception of a child. Almost all cultures are loosening restrictions against physical contact between partners, even in cultures that normally had strong prohibitions against it. The betrothal period was also considered to be a preparatory time, in which the groom built a house, started a business or otherwise proved his readiness to enter adult society.

In, in , a betrothal could be formed by the exchange of in the future tense (“I will take you as my wife/husband,” instead of “I take you as my wife/husband”), but sexual intercourse consummated the vows, making a binding marriage rather than a betrothal. Although these betrothals could be concluded with only the vows spoken by the couple, they had legal implications: had his  declared illegitimate on the grounds their father had been betrothed to another woman when he married their mother.

A betrothal is considered to be a ‘semi-binding’ contract. Normal reasons for invalidation of a betrothal include:
 * Revelation of a prior commitment or marriage
 * Evidence of
 * Failure to conceive (in ‘trial marriage’ cultures)
 * Failure of either party to meet the financial and property stipulations of the betrothal contract

Normally, either party can break a betrothal, though in certain traditions, a financial penalty (such as forfeit of the bride price) applies. In some countries, including England and Wales and many US states, it was once possible for the spurned partner (often only the woman) to sue the other for  or “heart-balm”. This provided some protection in an age where virginity at marriage was considered important and having a failed engagement could damage one's reputation, but this has become obsolete in most jurisdictions as attitudes to premarital sex have softened and emphasis shifted to allowing people to leave loveless relationships.

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