UPON awakening after spending their first married night together, the Anglo-Saxon husband would present his new bride with her morgen-gifu - literally, 'morning-gift'.  This gift was hers to keep, in her own right, for the rest of her life; neither divorce nor her husband's death could take it from her.  It might be jewellery - a string of pearls or amber beads, silver or gold neck chains or brooches, a ring set with precious lapis or garnets.  Or it might be a grant of land, or even a flock of sheep.  In the morning they were truly wedded, and the giving and acceptance of the morgen-gifu sealed their new bond with a loving start to their married life.  Let's make this ancient custom our own again.