A knottekistje or wedding casket is a small Frisian money casket.Description of a Knottekistje at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Apart from their content Knottekistjes are also valuable since in most cases they are made of silver. The boxes are rectangular with a semicircular lid and stand on ball feet. Frisian marriage caskets are delicately engraved with symbolic scenes about love and marriage, often accompanied by a proverb or motto.Cultuurwijzer.nl: Knoop voor geliefde
Folkloric Frisian tradition The knottekistje belongs to a folkloric Frisian tradition. In the sixteenth century it was customary for a boy to offer a girl a coin when he asked her to marry him. If she accepted this coin, the couple could consider themselves engaged.
If one offered more coins, it was done in a cloth with a special knot: the so-called knotte or knottedoek (knott cloth). This knotte ('knot' in Frisian has the same meaning as in English) was 'loosely' knotted. If the girl drew the knot tighter, then her response was positive and they were engaged. With increasing prosperity the cloth was replaced with a silver casket, called knottekistje. The box and its contents remained the property of the wife and was also kept as a saving for a rainy day.
Poem While offering the following poem was pronounced by the boy:
Wotte ? sa wotte Sa heste de knotte Wost it net dwaen Den kinst my de knotte werjaen
In English:
Do you want ? - If you want to Then the knotte is yours If you don't want to Then you must return the knotte to me Westfries museum
Literature Joost Hiddes Halbertsma, Letterkundige naoogst.Letterkundige naoogst Jacobus Scheltema, Volksgebruiken der Nederlanders bij het vrijen en trouwenVolksgebruiken der Nederlanders bij het vrijen en trouwen Drs. C. Boschma, Friese en Noordhollandse knottekistjes, Antiek, mei 1969, 3e jaargang, nr 10. Asing Walthaus, Geen ring, maar een knottenkistje, Leeuwarder Courant, 4 September 2015.Geen ring, maar een knottenkistje Haro Hielkema, Knottekistje voor een geliefde, Trouw, 4 December 2004.Knottekistje voor een geliefde
References
External links Website about a modern knottekistje (2015) Knottekistje at a Dutch television show