Has this come from Much Ado...?

Before that, of course, benedict was a word for an ointment or medicine - a cure for depression or some such?

Shakespeare's play, on the other hand, was so popular that bowdlerised versions were produced where the 'main' plot (Hero and Claudio) was almost excised altogether, and the play was re-titled "Benedict and Beatrice". Perhaps Benedict's happy state became a byword for successful matrimony?

cheer

the sunshine warrior