Law, Marriage, and Society in the Later Middle Ages : Arguments About Marriage in Five Courts

This is a study of marriage litigation (with some reference to sexual offenses) in the archiepiscopal court of York (1300–1500) and the episcopal courts of Ely (1374–1381), Paris (1384–1387), Cambrai (1438–1453), and Brussels (1448–1459). All these courts were, for the most part, correctly applying the late medieval canon law of marriage, but statistical analysis of the cases and results confirms that there were substantial differences both in the types of cases the courts heard and the results they reached. Marriages in England in the later middle ages were often under the control of the parties to the marriage, whereas those in northern France and southern Netherlands were often under the control of the parties'families and social superiors. Within this broad generalization the book brings to light patterns of late medieval men and women manipulating each other and the courts to produce extraordinarily varied results. "This is a study of marriage litigation (with some reference to sexual offenses) in the archiepiscopal court of York )1300-1500) and the episcopal courts of Ely (1374-1381), Paris (1384-1387), Cambrai (1438-1453), and Brussels (1448-1459). All these courts were, for the most part, correctly applying the late medieval canon law of marriage, but statistical analysis of the cases and results confirms that there were substantial differences in both the types of cases the courts heard and the results they reached." "Marriages in England in the later Middle Ages, the book argues, were more often under the control of the parties to the marriage, whereas those in northern France and the southern Netherlands were more often under the control of the parties' families and social superiors. Within this broad generalization the book brings to light patterns of late medieval men and women manipulating each other and the courts to produce extraordinarily varied results."--BOOK JACKET This is a study of marriage litigation in the archiepiscopal court of York (13001500) and the episcopal courts of Ely (13741381), Paris (13841387), Cambrai (14381453), and Brussels (14481459). All these courts were, for the most part, correctly applying the late medieval canon law of marriage, but statistical analysis of the cases and results confirms that there were substantial differences both in the types of cases the courts heard and the results they reached. Extensive additional material--over 300 pages--can be found on the Cambridge University Press website ((http://www.cambridge.org/9780521877282) www.cambridge.org/9780521877282 ) in the Resources and Solutions section under the heading "Text and Commentary". This additional material includes Latin quotations from cases, discussions of alternative interpretations, references to primary sources that support the argument and references to the literature on the cases. This is a study of marriage litigation (with some reference to sexual offenses) in the archiepiscopal court of York (1300-1500) and the episcopal courts of Ely (1374-1381), Paris (1384-1387), Cambrai (1438-1453), and Brussels (1448-1459). All these courts were, for the most part, correctly applying the late medieval canon law of marriage, but statistical analysis of the cases and results confirms that there were substantial differences both in the types of cases the courts heard and the results they reached. Marriages in England in the later middle ages were often under the control of the parties to the marriage, whereas those in northern France and southern Netherlands were often under the control of the parties' families and social superiors. Within this broad generalization the book brings to light patterns of late medieval men and women manipulating each other and the courts to produce extraordinarily varied results Frontmatter List of Tables (page page viii) Preface (page xi) Acknowledgments (page xiii) Notes About This Book (page xv) Introduction (page 1) 1: The Background Rules and Institutions (page 14) 2: Lying Witnesses and Social Reality: Four English Marriage Cases in the High Middle Ages (page 46) 3: Statistics: The Court of York, 1300-1500 (page 63) 4: Story-Patterns in the Court of York in the Fourteenth Century (page 90) 5: Story-Patterns in the Court of York in the Fifteenth Century (page 152) 6: Ely (page 218) 7: Paris (page 302) 8: Cambrai and Brussels: The Courts and the Numbers (page 383) 9: Cambrai and Brussels: The Content of the Sentences (page 424) 10: Divorce a mensa et thoro and salvo iure thori (Separation) (page 521) 11: Social Practice, Formal Rule, and the Medieval Canon Law of Incest (page 562) Broader Comparisons (page 598) Bibliography and Abbreviations (page 641) Subject Index (page 655)