Indecipherable Scrawlings

In pre-Elizabethan England it was held that any woman who wore just her shift to her wedding would not take her debts into marriage.  Probably because any woman confident enough to strut nearly naked into church before her friends, family and religious leader is not likely to be cowed by debt collectors.  Or because any woman willing to demonstrate so publicly that she can't afford a dress should be forgiven.

Regardless it is a lovely tradition, but don't be like my friend and suggest bringing it back to his fiance...