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From Rite to Right: How Holy Days Became a Natural Right in Medieval England by Justin Scott Kirkland, B.A. a Thesis in History

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From Rite to Right: How Holy Days Became a Natural Right in Medieval England by Justin Scott Kirkland, B.A. a Thesis in History From Rite to Right: How Holy Days Became a Natural Right in Medieval England by Justin Scott Kirkland, B.A. A Thesis In History Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved Dr. John Howe Chair of Committee Dr. Abigail Swingen Dr. Bruce Brasington Dominick Casadonte Interim Dean of the Graduate School May, 2013 © 2013 Justin Scott Kirkland Texas Tech University, Justin Scott Kirkland, May 2013 Acknowledgements Thanks be to Almighty God for all His guidance and blessings. This thesis is dedicated to my father, mother, and sister who have always been caring and supportive. I must acknowledge the influence of all the teachers I have had throughout my life for imparting me with the knowledge and skills that have culminated in this thesis. I am indebted to several people that have allowed me to construct this thesis. I would first like to express my deep gratitude to the chair of my committee, Dr. John Howe. He has been an integral part in the construction of this thesis, from suggesting the topic of holidays as rights to teaching me much about medieval history. It must be noted that he has been of great assistance with the Latin translations that are used in this thesis. When my meager ability at translating medieval Latin passages resulted in line after line of nonsense, Dr. Howe was willing to expend much time and energy translating various primary sources, and for that I am grateful. Of course, I take full responsibility for any mistakes in the translation. I am also grateful for the tremendous assistance Dr. Abigail Swingen has provided. She has always been a source of support ever since I was an undergraduate in her Tudor-Stuart England class, willing to read and reread my (overly long) writing sample for graduate school when she did not have to. During the writing of this thesis, she was also willing to read chapter after chapter (all of which were also overly long) and offer very helpful suggestions even though the topic was before her era of expertise. She has kindly and patiently assisted me as an undergraduate and graduate student, and I am deeply appreciative for having her as a professor. I must also thank Dr. Bruce Brasington of West Texas A&M University for his assistance with this project. He agreed to be on the committee of a random grad student at a different university, was forced to read a long thesis, and then travelled two hours to Lubbock for the thesis defense. He has provided insightful suggestions that have had a direct impact on the final form this thesis has taken. It was validating to know that an expert in the field of medieval canon law did not find my thesis dealing with legal history completely objectionable. ii Texas Tech University, Justin Scott Kirkland, May 2013 I would also like to thank the Helen Jones Foundation and the Department of History at Texas Tech University for graciously bestowing a Helen Jones Foundation fellowship upon me. I was able to study abroad in 2013 at Manchester Metropolitan University in England due to generous amounts of funding from the Department of History and Study Abroad Office at Texas Tech. With their support I was able to consult sources at the British National Archives (London), the John Rylands Library (The University of Manchester), the Borthwick Institute for Archives (The University of York), and York Minster Library. I must also extend thanks to my fellow graduate students in the department for camaraderie and good times over the past three years. Justin Scott Kirkland Lubbock, Texas April 6, 2013 Feast of Pope St. Sixtus I Quid enim prodest homini, si mundum universum lucretur, animae vero suae detrimentum patiatur? —Matthaeum XVI:XXVI Non est diuturna possessio, in quam gladio inducimur: beneficiorum gratia sempiterna est. —Quintus Curtius Rufus Historiae Alexandri Magni VIII.VIII.XI iii Texas Tech University, Justin Scott Kirkland, May 2013 Table of Contents Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………ii Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………..vi I. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………1 Historiography of Medieval Natural Rights Theories…………………………….4 Historiography of Medieval Feasts………………………………………………11 The Significance of Feasts……………………………………………………….16 The Medieval Concept of Work…………………………………………………19 Discussion of Sources……………………………………………………………23 Chapter Layout and Citation Styles……………………………………………...25 II Christianity, Anglo-Saxon England, and Feasts………………………………….28 Christianity in England and the Anglo-Saxon Church…………....………………..28 From Pagan to Christian Feasts………………………………………………….30 Folklaw and Anglo-Saxon Legal Institutions.............……………………………32 Anglo-Saxon Feast Laws………………………………………………………...35 Trends……………………………………………………………………………53 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….57 III. Post-Conquest Feast Laws and Jurisdiction……………………………………..59 The Anglo-Norman Church……………………………………………………...61 The Decretum of Gratian and Canon Law……………………………………….72 The English Common Law………………………………………………………77 The Thirteenth Century Sabbatarian Movement…………………………………81 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….90 iv Texas Tech University, Justin Scott Kirkland, May 2013 IV The Natural Law Basis of Holy Days……………………………………………..94 Feasts and the Cycles of Nature…………………………………………………94 The Legal Basis for Keeping Holy Days………………………………………...97 Conflation of Sabbath Non-Sabbath Feasts…………………………………….104 The Purpose of Feasts in Natural Law………………………………………….108 Hallow Thine Holy Day………………………………………………………...117 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...123 V. Holy Days as Rights………………………………………………………………..124 Servile Work……………………………………………………………………126 Violations of Servile Work Restrictions…………………………………..........129 Quia Necessitas Non Habet Legem: Necessity and Feasts……………………..148 Servile Work Exceptions and Banquets………………………………………...153 Economic Policies………………………………………………………………157 The Right to Feasts: From Custom or Nature?.………………………………...164 The Question of Renunciation………………………………………………….173 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...184 VI. Epilogue……………………………………………………………………………185 Why Holy Days Were Not Explicitly Called Natural Rights…………………..188 The Significance of the Medieval Right to Holy Days…………………………191 The Influence of the Right to Holy Days on History…………………………...194 The Modern Conception of the Right to Holy Days……………………………200 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………...202 v Texas Tech University, Justin Scott Kirkland, May 2013 Abstract This thesis explores medieval English holy days using the theoretical framework of medieval natural rights established by Brian Tierney, R. H. Helmholz, and Kenneth Pennington. It suggests that holy days were invented as natural rights in the Middle Ages based on evidence from summae and from prosecutions of feast nonobservance by ecclesiastical courts. The right allowed all people in society to observe holy days by abstaining from servile work. This had great implications on social relations in medieval society because it limited the power masters had over their servants. vi Texas Tech University, Justin Scott Kirkland, May 2013 Chapter I Introduction Statute §51.911 of the Texas Education Code states: “An institution of higher education shall excuse a student from attending classes or other required activities, including examinations, for the observance of a religious holy day, including travel for that purpose. A student whose absence is excused under this subsection may not be penalized for that absence and shall be allowed to take an examination or complete an assignment from which the student is excused within a reasonable time after the absence.”1 This law affirms that college students in the state of Texas have an overriding right to participate in any holy days of their religion, even if they occur during days upon which their university is in session. Essentially, it allows students to “cut class” without penalty to observe holy days. This law is not some newly fabricated initiative by Christian conservatives, but actually reflects an idea originating in the Middle Ages. In fact, several components in the way this Texas law is framed derive from ways medieval writers wrote about the right to festivals (feriae). The law does not explicitly declare that there is a right to holy days, though that is essentially what it assumes, similar to the way in which medieval writers tended to refrain from directly calling holy days a natural right (ius naturale), even though they recognized and treated them as such. The law further refrains from listing all the holy days which students may acceptably observe. An individual’s religion establishes what days are legitimate holy days; in the same way that 1 Texas Education Code, §51.911. Vernon’s Texas Codes Annotated: Education Code, Sections 30.001 to 51 (St. Paul, MN: Thomson West, 2006), 800-801. 1 Texas Tech University, Justin Scott Kirkland, May 2013 the medieval Church dictated which ones were holy. The Texan law does not claim to establish the human right to observe holy days, but merely extends legal protection to a religious right which inheres in each individual. The right to holy days is also protected by the United Nations. Article 24 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted December 10, 1948 declares, “Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.”2 At the heart of both the Texas law and UN declaration is a recognition that each individual has a right to observe certain days without participating
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