How Gretna Green Became the Quickie Wedding Capital of 18th-Century Englanders格雷特纳格林：18世纪英格兰人的“闪婚之都”

艾米丽·赖利 译/杜磊 审订/肖维青

In the U.S.， Las Vegas is known as the ultimate quickie wedding destination. But across the pond， the verdant village of Gretna Green in Scotland has been a hotbed of runaway “I do’s” for more than 260 years—longer than Sin City has even been around. And it was all thanks to one stuffy British lawyer who， in an attempt to reform English marriage laws， inadvertently made elopements to the tiny Scottish hamlet de rigueur1 for couples looking to tie the knot as soon as possible.

Before the 1750s， couples in England who wanted to get married only had to make a declaration to make the union legal and binding. However， the Church of England’s rules on marriage were a little more complicated. In order to hold an official church wedding， a couple had to make their plans publicly known several weeks before the ceremony through the reading of banns—public announcements， made on three different Sundays before the wedding， that would give the public the chance to object to the union for any legal or religious reasons， such as if one half of the couple had a previous marriage that was never annulled2. （In a time when a divorce was hard to obtain， it wasn’t uncommon for people to simply try to skip town， then get married to someone else later on.） And if either person was under 21， they had to have parental permission to marry.

But since weddings that didn’t comply with these church rules were still considered legal by the British government， these so-called clandestine or irregular marriages became quite common. There were a number of other reasons why couples might have opted to forgo an official wedding， whether it was to avoid a pricey marriage license or parish fees， evade the public announcement requirement， marry despite parental opposition， conceal a pregnancy， or comply with religious beliefs outside the Church of England.

Skirting the marriage laws

Some clergy members were willing to perform clandestine marriages for a fee， but those who did so risked being fined and suspended by the church for up to three years. Couples looking to get around the rules could seek out imprisoned clergy， who ostensibly had nothing to lose. As a result， London’s Fleet Prison3， which fell outside the jurisdiction of the local bishop， became an especially popular place to get married... until the glut of Fleet weddings came to the attention of one of the highest-ranking members of the British government.

To combat this scourge4 of irregular marriages， Lord Chancellor Philip Yorke， 1st Earl of Hardwicke， introduced “An Act for the Better Preventing of Clandestine Marriage，” also known as the Marriage Act of 1753. The law established two main requirements for a marriage to be considered legal： The ceremony had to be performed in a church （usually the bride’s local parish） according to Anglican rites and both members of the couple had to be at least 21 years old or have their parents’ permission.

Still， some young lovebirds were determined to get around the rules. Numerous English couples avoided Lord Hardwicke’s Act by traveling to Scotland—very often in secret. There， girls as young as 12 years old and boys as young as 14 could get married without parental consent. They simply needed to express their desire to be married in order to be legally bound together. So Gretna Green， the most easily reachable village across the Scottish border from England， became a hotspot for elopements.

Tying the knot with anvils

Though Scottish marriage laws allowed for pretty much anyone to legally marry a couple， brides- and grooms-to-be arriving from England often felt as if they needed some kind of formality to make their wedding seem more official. In seeking out responsible， upstanding local citizens in a town where they likely knew no one， couples often turned to toll keepers， innkeepers， and blacksmiths to perform the ceremony.

As the local lore goes， when earnest couples crossed the Scottish border and arrived at Gretna Green， they spotted the village’s blacksmiths at their forges and would ask if they’d be willing to join them in matrimony. So it became a local tradition for couples to seek out these anvil priests in the village’s two blacksmith shops and inns， and thus the anvil came to symbolize the commitment newlyweds were making to each other.

“As a blacksmith would join metals together over the anvil， two hearts were also joined，” Susan Clark， director of Gretna Green Ltd.， a local wedding planning business， tells Mental Floss5. It became a popular side gig for local blacksmiths. One anvil priest， Richard Rennison， reportedly performed as many as 5，147 marriages.

It didn’t take long for the village to gain a reputation as a perfectly quaint destination for elopements. By the 19th century， numerous references to the village’s popularity as a spot for runaway weddings began to appear in literature. In Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice， for example， Lydia Bennet leaves a note for her friend that she is on her way to Gretna Green to elope with George Wickham. Austen wrote about Scottish elopement in Sense and Sensibility and Mansfield Park as well.

Gretna Green has also garnered mentions in everything from Agatha Christie’s 1971 novel Nemesis to the early 2000s Japanese manga series Embalming： The Another Tale of Frankenstein. On television， running off to Gretna Green has been a plot point on numerous series， including the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street and， more recently， Downton Abbey.

A modern wedding destination

While irregular marriages are a thing of the past， even today， people are still drawn to the mysticism of marrying at Gretna Green. Saying “I do” over the village anvil or in the area around Dumfries continues to be a popular matrimonial choice for modern-day couples.

According to one Scottish tourism website， about 5，000 couples get married at Gretna Green each year. The tidal wave of weddings occurs not just during typical romantic holidays， like Valentine’s Day， but on other memor-able dates on the calendar as well. On November 11， 2011 （11/11/11）， for instance， 51 weddings and two civil services took place in Gretna Green and the surrounding area. People “want to become part of the magic that is Gretna Green—the history， the intrigue， the romance and rebellion，” Clark says.

在美國，拉斯维加斯因能让人极速结婚而成为遐迩闻名的胜地。但大洋彼岸，郁郁葱葱的苏格兰格雷特纳格林村260余年来就一直是私奔情侣缔结良缘、高喊“我愿意”的大本营——这比拉斯维加斯这座“罪恶之城”存在的历史还要绵长。而这一切都要归功于一位古板的英国大律师——他曾尝试对英国的婚姻法进行改革，却在无意之中让期待尽快结合的情侣把私奔至这个苏格兰小村庄当成必要的仪式。

18世纪50年代之前，想要结婚的英国恋人只需发布一则声明就能使婚姻合法并具有约束效力。然而，英国国教对婚姻的规定则更复杂一些。为了举行正式的教堂婚礼，男女必须在婚礼前几周，通过发布公告的方式让公众知晓他们的结婚计划——这种公开声明要在举行婚礼前的三个礼拜连续每个周日发布，以便给人提出任何法律与宗教缘由反对这一结合的机会，例如，夫妇中有一方之前有过一段婚姻且从未解除。（在一个很难离婚的时代，人们只要试着跑路，就可随后与他人结婚，这种现象并不算罕见。）还有，如双方中有一方未满21岁，他们必须征得父母的许可方能结婚。

但是，不符合这些教会规定的婚礼仍然被英国政府视为合法，这些所谓的秘密或非正常婚姻在当时变得相当普遍。还有其他一些原因也可能会让新人选择放弃正式的婚礼，如为了节省昂贵的结婚证或教区费用、为了逃避公开声明的要求、不顾父母的反对而结婚、隐瞒未婚先孕或信奉英国国教以外的宗教信仰。

法外成婚

某些神职人员为了收取费用甘愿为秘密婚礼证婚，但这样做的人却有面临罚款和被教会停职长达三年的风险。希望绕开这些规则的情侣则可以寻找那些被监禁的神职人员，因为表面上，他们不会再有任何损失。因此，不属于当地主教管辖范围的伦敦舰队监狱一度成了一处特别受人欢迎的结婚场所……舰队婚礼由此泛滥，直到引起一位英国政府最高级别官员的注意。

为了应对非正常婚姻带来的危害，哈德威克伯爵一世、大法官菲利普·约克提出了“一项更好地防范秘密婚姻的法令”，也被称为《1753年婚姻法》。该法令规定了婚姻被视为合法的两项主要条件：结婚仪式必须在教堂（通常是新娘所在教区）按照英国圣公会的仪式举行，并且双方必须至少年满21岁或得到父母的许可。

然而，一些年轻的爱侣还是决心要绕开这些规则。许多英国恋人通过前往苏格兰——通常是偷偷摸摸地——来规避哈德威克伯爵婚姻法。在那里， 女孩到12岁、男孩到14岁，结婚无须经过父母同意。他们只需表达自己的结婚意愿就可以在法律上获准结合。因此，格雷特纳格林，这个从英格兰跨越苏格兰边境最容易到达的村庄便成了私奔的一大热门地点。

铁砧证婚

尽管苏格兰婚姻法允许几乎任何人成为证婚人，但这些从英格兰赶来的准新娘和准新郎却常常觉得他们需要某种形式来使他们的婚礼看起来更为正式。新人想在一个可能谁也不认识的小镇上寻找到负责、正直的当地公民，常常求助于收费员、旅馆老板和铁匠来主持婚礼。

当地有个传说，诚心诚意的恋人穿越苏格兰边境到达格雷特纳格林时看到了村里正在锻造铁器的铁匠，于是就上前询问铁匠是否愿意帮他们结为夫妻。从此，新人要在村里的两家铁匠铺和小酒馆里寻找到这些铁砧牧师成了当地的一项传统，铁砧也因此成为新婚夫妇对彼此忠诚的象征。

当地婚礼策划公司格雷特纳格林有限公司的主管苏珊·克拉克告诉《心理牙线》杂志：“当铁匠在铁砧上将金属连接在一起时，两颗心也被锻造在了一起。”证婚成了一项颇受当地铁匠欢迎的副业。据报道，一位名叫理查德·伦尼森的铁砧牧师证婚多达5147次。

没过多久，该村就获得了私奔独家胜地的美誉。到了19世纪，文学作品中开始大量提到这个村子是私奔结婚的胜地。例如，在简·奥斯汀的《傲慢与偏见》中，莉迪娅·贝内特在留给她朋友的一张字条中就说道，她要与乔治·威克姆私奔，正在赶往格雷特纳格林的路上。奥斯汀在《理智与情感》和《曼斯菲尔德庄园》中也写到了私奔到苏格兰的情节。

从阿加莎·克里斯蒂1971年的小说《复仇女神》到21世纪初的日本漫画系列《猎尸者》，也都提到了格雷特纳格林。在电视节目中，逃跑到格雷特纳格林是许多剧集的一个桥段，包括英国长篇肥皂剧《加冕街》以及更近的《唐顿庄园》。

现代婚礼胜地

虽然非正常婚姻已成过去，但即使到了今天，在格雷特纳格林结婚的神秘感依然吸引着人们。如今，很多情侣结婚时还喜欢来到这里，在村里的铁砧旁或在邓弗里斯周边地区说上一句“我愿意”。

根据苏格兰一家旅游网站统计，每年约有5000对新人在格雷特纳格林结婚。如潮的婚礼不仅在情人节那样独特的浪漫节日里，也在一些其他值得纪念的日子里举行。例如，2011年11月11日（三11），格雷特纳格林与其周边地区一共举行了51场婚礼和两场世俗仪式。克拉克说，人们“想亲身体验格雷特纳格林的魔力——蕴含历史、阴谋、浪漫和叛逆的魔力”。

（译者单位：浙江大学外国语言文化与国际交流学院）