The Dunmow Flitch of Bacon Custom

The Dunmow Flitch tradition is associated with the award of a side of bacon to married couples who can satisfy a prescribed test of marital harmony. The custom became the subject of literary references and later public ceremonies.

Its documented history should be separated from simplified claims about an unchanged medieval institution. Different periods have seen different arrangements for the ceremony and its revival.

Place: Great Dunmow, Essex. Evidence: historical references and later public custom. Source trail: local Dunmow Flitch records; historical discussions of the flitch custom in English folklore studies.