The announcement of wedding banns were required before a couple could be married. For this purpose, the promulgation books (liber promulgationum sponsorum, liber publicationum, liber bannorum, Eheverkündigungsbuch, Brautleute) were maintained. They contain chronological entries of upcoming weddings, including the names of the betrothed, their residences, family status, age & occupation as well as their parents, and finally three terms of performed banns. The planned wedding was announced in the church by reading the entry from the promulgation book at the end of Mass. The announcement of these banns was made on three consecutive Holy Days in the parish church(es) of both the groom and bride. Parishioners were obliged to inform the priest of any canonical impediment to that marriage if they were aware of any.
Books of banns can be very useful when the parish registers are missing or unavailable. They can also be very helpful if we need to identify the place of a marriage that took place out of the ancestral village.
Samples
Faq
Books of banns 1939 (District archive Bruntál, German language)
Record of the banns for the marriage of August Hübner and Marie Alscher. The record shows their birth places, birthdates, religion, family status, names of parents, and the date of the three banns. The record was completed with the date and place of the wedding.English translation of this record
WHY were they collected? | Collect personal data about betrothed for public announcement |
WHEN were they collected? | 18th century – 1950s |
WHO collected the records? | Parish offices |
WHAT information can be found? | Name, surname, religion, birth date & place, residence, family status, parents, date of banns |
In which ARCHIVES are they held? | District archives, city archives |
In which archive FILES can they be found? | Archives of parish offices |
LANGUAGE of records | Czech, German |
AVAILABILITY | Very rare |
What must be KNOWN before getting started? | Name, town or village and the parish district of the groom and bride |
Czech expression |
Kniha ohlášek snoubenců (plural = Knihy ohlášek snoubenců) |