From: G6JPG@255soft.uk   
      
   On 2025/9/26 21:41:47, Charles Ellson wrote:   
   > On Fri, 26 Sep 2025 21:01:10 +0100, Charles Ellson   
   >  wrote:   
   >   
   >> On Thu, 25 Sep 2025 16:10:12 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver"   
   >>  wrote:   
   >>   
   >>> On 2025/9/25 12:47:25, Jenny M Benson wrote:   
   >>>> On 25/09/2025 11:30, J. P. Gilliver wrote:   
   >>>>> The preprinted forms for marriage bonds and allegations have this text:   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> .. made oath as follows (to wit) That he is of the age of [	] Years and   
   >>>>> upwards, and a [	] and intends to marry [	] of the Parish of [	] in the   
   >>>>> County of [	] and Diocese of [		] aged [	] Years and upwards ...   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> (or variations thereon). [The second box might be filled in with e. g.   
   >>>>> Bachelor, Widower; the long one with name of diocese Spinster. They   
   >>>>> aren't really boxes, just gaps.]   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> Can anyone explain the "Years and upwards" wording?   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Isn't is just another way of saying "at least n years old"?   
   >>>>   
   >>> Yes, but why say "at least 23" (for example)? If the person is unsure of   
   >>> his (or her) age, and just wants to swear he (or she) is over the age of   
   >>> majority, say 21 (and I've seen enough who do say that when it isn't   
   >>> true!), but if he knows, why the "and upwards"?   
   >>>   
   >> The simple description of "x years" only applies for one year. The   
   >> general legal requirements concerning age deal with being at least or   
   >> no more than x years old thus the verbose wording which in this case   
      
   no more than? A _maximum_ age? First I've heard of that, at least in the   
   context of marriage.   
      
      
   >> dealt with a person who had reached their twenty-first birhday which   
   >> qualified them to marry without general hindrance from that day   
   >> onward. The form would also have allowed the age of a minor to be   
   >> entered; in some cases (not limited to marriage) that could expand to   
   >> e.g. "of x years or and less than y years"   
   >>   
   > "of x years and less than y years"   
   >   
   >> or similar.   
      
   (I have indeed seen a minor mentioned; that form had hand-annotated that   
   the father was also present, and approved.) But the words "Years and   
   upwards" are preprinted on the form, with no space for "and less than".   
      
   --   
   J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf   
      
   Women who aspire to be equal to men, lack ambition - Marilyn Monroe   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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