careclotht

[In Palsgrave (1530), carde clothe, appar. for carre cloth: OF. carre, square, broad, carré, squared, square, mod. F. carre, (square) side, carré, square.] A cloth held over the heads of a bride and bridegroom dur ing the marriage ceremony as performed in England in the middle ages. See the extracts. At the "Sanctus," both the bride and bridegroom knelt near the altar's foot; and then, if neither had been married before, over them a pall, or, as it used to be called, the care-cloth, was held at its four corners by as many clerics. Rock , Church of our Fathers, III. ii. 178. In the bridal ma , the York varied somewhat from the Sarum use: only two clerics held the care - cloth , and a ble ing was bestowed by the priest with the chalice upon the newly married folks. 822