Why is the head groomsman at a wedding called the best man, and why isn't there a best woman?

unclerick

Best man is the chief male assistant to the bridegroom at a wedding. In North America and Europe, the groom extends this honor to someone who is close to him, generally either a brother or his closest male friend. When the groom wishes to give this honor to a woman, she may be termed the best woman or best person, or may still be referred to as the 'best man'. The bride's equivalent of the best man is the maid or matron of honor. A gender-neutral term is honor attendant. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_ceremony_participants Mar 24 10, 11:41 PM

star_gazer

The history of the tradition of the best man goes back to as early as the sixteenth century when the sole duty of the best man was to help the groom kidnap a woman who he is going to marry. The Tradition of Kidnapping the Bride This custom of kidnapping of the bride is believed to have originated from the Germanic Goths. Traditionally, it was usual for a man to marry a woman who lived in the same town or village where he lives. But sometimes there were not enough women in that town or village. In those cases the groom had to go to neighboring towns or localities to find a suitable bride for himself. Once he found the bride of his choice he would soon invade the locality and kidnap his desired woman and eventually marry her. The groom would ask one of his intimate friends who he thinks to be the best man to assist him to support him in getting the job done. The best man then would also try to protect the couple (actually the groom) during the wedding and make sure that the bride’s family (who would obviously try to get her back) stays away from the place of wedding unless of course they are prepared to accept the groom. And that’s not all. It was the responsibility of the best man to thwart any other man from hijacking the bride. The best man customarily used to stand to the right of the groom, by having his hand on the sword, throughout the wedding ceremony, prepared to protect the groom and the bride from any probable threat. http://www.bestmanspeechinsight.com/blog/best-man/history-of-the-best-man/ Mar 25 10, 12:52 AM