Note 993 — Chapter VII · RISE OF ECCLESIASTICAL MARRIAGE: THE CHURCH ACCEPTS THE LAY CONTRACT AND CEREMONIAL

This ritual also provides a form for the priestly blessing of the bridal chamber (benedictio thalami) and the nuptial couch: "Nocte vero sequenti cum sponsus et sponsa ad lectum pervenerint, accedat Sacerdos et benedicat thalamum;" the blessing concluding with the direction: "Tunc secundum morem antiquum thurificentur torus et thalamus": 39, 40. Similar forms are given in the Hereford, Sarum, and Bangor rituals: Surtees Society Publications, LXIII, Appendix, 25, 26, 120; Maskell, I, 76, 77 n. 47.