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Illegitimacy and English Landed Society C.1285-C.1500 Helen Sarah

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Illegitimacy and English Landed Society C.1285-C.1500 Helen Sarah Illegitimacy and English Landed Society c.1285-c.1500 Helen Sarah Matthews A thesis presented to Royal Holloway, University of London in Fulfilment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 1 Declaration of Authorship I, Helen Sarah Matthews, hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: ______________________ Date: ________________________ 2 Abstract This study examines the incidence of illegitimacy among members of the landed classes, broadly defined, in late medieval England and the factors which affected the ability of parents to provide for their illegitimate offspring. Illegitimacy has normally been studied from either a legal or a social standpoint. This thesis will combine these approaches in order to provide insight into the social structure of late medieval England. Illegitimacy was a matter which primarily affected the right to inherit property and by implication, the person’s associated status. The period from c.1285, when the statute De Donis Conditionalibus was enacted, to the end of the fifteenth century saw the development of a number of legal devices affecting the ability of landowners to plan the succession to their estates. The enfeoffment to use and the entail allowed landowners the opportunity to settle estates on illegitimate children, or anyone else, without permanently alienating the property from the family line. By the fifteenth century, this freedom of action was becoming restricted by pre-existing entails and a means of breaking entails developed. This study begins with a survey of the legal issues surrounding illegitimacy and the context within which landowners were able to make provision for illegitimate children. Subsequent chapters examine wills and estate settlements to consider the actual provision for illegitimate children made by individuals in different circumstances. Particular attention is given to individuals lacking a legitimate male heir of the body and the circumstances in which it was possible for an illegitimate son to become a substitute heir, concluding that illegitimacy was an obstacle that could be overcome, provided a number of conditions were met. A final chapter looks at attitudes to sexual misconduct and illegitimacy generally, concluding that illegitimacy was primarily a legal, rather than social, disability. The overall conclusion is that the fourteenth century provided a particular window of opportunity for bastard offspring. 3 Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. 5 Abbreviated References .................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2: Methodology ................................................................................................. 34 Chapter 3: When is a bastard not a bastard? Legal aspects of illegitimacy .................... 59 Chapter 4: ‘Bastards and else’: cases where there were legitimate offspring ................. 99 Chapter 5: Illegitimate children as substitute heirs ....................................................... 127 Chapter 6: Illegitimate children not used as substitute heirs......................................... 150 Chapter 7: Attitudes to illegitimacy: in public and in private ....................................... 175 Chapter 8: Conclusion ................................................................................................... 216 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 229 Appendix Appendix A: Bequests in wills ...................................................................................... 255 Tables and Illustrations Table 1: Mapping of Sociological Categories of Illegitimacy to Medieval society ....... 14 Table 2: Bastards identified from a selection of printed wills or calendars .................... 38 Table 3 Bastardy Examples from Wrottesley’s Pedigrees from the Plea Rolls ............. 42 Table 4: MPs who fathered illegitimate children. ........................................................... 50 Table 5: Provision for bastard offspring of MPs ............................................................. 53 Table 6: Bastard MPs ............................................................................................. 56 Table 7: Canon law definitions of children ..................................................................... 61 Table 8: Comparison of Legal Types of Illegitimacy in Canon and Common Law ....... 82 Table 9: Types of Legitimation ....................................................................................... 93 Table 10: Scenarios with Legitimate and Illegitimate offspring ................................... 100 Table 11: Licences for bulk dispensations, mid fourteenth century ............................. 205 Figure 1. Simplified Bodrugan Family Tree ................................................................. 119 Figure 2. Simplified Vescy Family Tree ....................................................................... 131 Figure 3: Relationship of Henry de Hoghton and Joan Radcliffe ................................. 145 Figure 4: Prior’s Lodging at Castle Acre ...................................................................... 210 4 Acknowledgments I am indebted to the staff of the National Archives and various local record offices for their assistance, and also to the many individuals who been involved in the digitization of primary and secondary texts, many of which have become available since I started this project, and which are particularly invaluable for a part-time student with limited travel opportunities. I would also like to thank Mr David Morgan, Professor David d’Avray and Dr Nigel Ramsay for their advice and support at various stages of the project. I would also like to thank my employers at UCL for allowing me a period of unpaid leave so that I was able to complete the project. I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Nigel Saul, for providing the initial inspiration in a footnote, and for his support and guidance throughout. Most of all I would like to thank my husband, Neil, for his encouragement. 5 Abbreviated References The following abbreviations are used in the footnotes. Generally, the full title is given only for the first reference and thereafter short titles are used. Ancient Deeds A Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds in the Public Record Office. ed. H. C. Maxwell-Lyte (6 vols., London 1890-1915) Blomefield, Blomefield, Francis, An Essay Towards a Topographical History of Norfolk Norfolk (11 vols. London, 1805-10) Blore, Rutland Blore, Thomas, The History and Antiquities of the County of Rutland (Stanford, 1811) Bracton Bracton: de Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae, ed. G Woodbine, trans. S E Thorne (4 vols., Cambridge, Mass., 1968-77) Bracton’s Note Bracton’s Note Book, ed. F Maitland (3 vols., London, 1887) Book BRUO Emden, A B, A Biographical Register of the University of Oxford to A.D. 1500 (3 vols., Oxford, 1957-9) CCR Calendar of Close Rolls CFR Calendar of Fine Rolls CIPM Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem Cal. Inq. Misc. Calendar of Inquisitions Miscellaneous Cal. Ireland Calendar of Documents Relating to Ireland Cal. Scot Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland Coll. Top. et. Gen. Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica CP Cockayne, G E , The Complete Peerage, ed. V. Gibbs et al. (12 volumes in 13, London, 1912-50) CPL Calendar of entries in the papal registers relating to Great Britain and Ireland: papal letters ed. Bliss et al. i – vii, (London, 1893-1906) CPP Petitions to the Pope 1342-1419 ed. W. H. Bliss (London,1896) CPR Calendar of Patent Rolls Dugdale, Dugdale, William, The Baronage of England (2 vols., London, 1675-6) Baronage Dugdale, Dugdale, William, Monasticon Anglicanum (6 vols., London, 1846) Monasticon Dugdale, Dugdale, William The Antiquities of Warwickshire (2nd ed. London, Warwickshire 1730). Ec.Hist.R Economic History Review EELR Earliest English Law Reports ed. Paul A Brand, (Selden Society 111, 112, 122, 123, 1995-2007) EHD English Historical Documents EHR English Historical Review 6 Fasti Ebor. W H Dixon, Fasti Eboracenses. Lives of the Archbishops of York, ed. J Raine (London, 1863) Feudal Aids Inquisitions and assessments relating to feudal aids: with other analogous documents preserved in the Public Record Office. A.D. 1284-1431 (6 vols, London 1899-1920) House of J S Roskell, L Clark and C Rawcliffe eds. The History of Parliament. The Commons House of Commons 1386-1421 (4 vols, Stroud 1992) Hanshall Hanshall, JH, History of the County Palatine of Chester (Chester, 1817) Hunter, South Hunter, Joseph, South Yorkshire: The history and topography of the Yorks deanery of Doncaster, in the diocese and county of York (2 vols., London, 1828-31) Husting Calendar of Wills proved and enrolled in the Court of Hustings A.D. 1258-A.D. 1688 ed. R R Sharpe, (2 vols., London, 1889-90) Lipscomb Lipscomb, George, The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham (4 vols. London,1847). Nichols, Nichols, John, History and Antiquities of the County
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