DOCSLIB.ORG

Irregular Unions

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Irregular Unions IRREGULAR UNIONS IRREGULAR UNIONS CLANDESTINE MARRIAGE IN EARLY MODERN EN GLISH LIT ER A TURE Katharine Cleland CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS Ithaca and London Publication of this open monograph was the result of Virginia Tech’s participation in TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem), a collaboration of the Association of American Universities, the Association of University Presses, and the Association of Research Libraries. TOME aims to expand the reach of long-form humanities and social science scholarship including digital scholarship. Additionally, the program looks to ensure the sustainability of university press monograph publishing by supporting the highest quality scholarship and promoting a new ecology of scholarly publishing in which authors’ institutions bear the publication costs. Funding from Virginia Tech made it possible to open this publication to the world. www.openmonographs.org Copyright © 2021 by Cornell University The text of this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International License: https:// creativecommons . org / licenses / by - nc - nd / 4 . 0 / . To use this book, or parts of this book, in any way not covered by the license, please contact Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. Visit our website at cornellpress . cornell . edu. Printed in the United States of Amer i ca Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Cleland, Katharine, 1982– author. Title: Irregular unions : clandestine marriage in early modern En glish lit er a ture / Katharine Cleland. Description: Ithaca [New York] : Cornell University Press, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020015143 (print) | LCCN 2020015144 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501753473 (paperback) | ISBN 9781501753497 (pdf ) | ISBN 9781501753480 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Marriage in lit er a ture. | Clandestinity (Canon law) | En glish lit er a ture— Early modern, 1500–1700— History and criticism. Classification: LCC PN56.M28 C58 2021 (print) | LCC PN56.M28 (ebook) | DDC 820.9/3543— dc23 LC rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2020015143 LC ebook rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2020015144 Cover illustration: Othello and Desdemona (1859) by Daniel Maclise, RA. For Hattie and Alice Contents Acknowl edgments ix Introduction: Making a Clandestine Match in Early Modern En glish Lit er a ture 1 1. Reforming Clandestine Marriage in Spenser’s Faerie Queene, Book I 17 2. “Wanton Loves and Young Desires”: Marlowe’s Hero and Leander and Chapman’s Continuation 40 3. Sacred Ceremonies and Private Contracts in Spenser’s Epithalamion and Shakespeare’s A Lover’s Complaint 63 4. “Lorenzo and His Infidel”: Elopement and the Cross- Cultural House hold in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice 87 5. “Are You Fast Married?”: Elopement and Turning Turk in Shakespeare’s Othello 110 Conclusion: Incestuous Clandestine Marriage in John Ford’s ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore 134 Notes 143 Bibliography 171 Index 189 Acknowl edgments All scholarly books have long histories, and I would like to start at the very beginning. I am grateful for wonderful teach- ers and mentors at early stages in my education. First, I would like to thank Kristopher H. Koechling. I would also like to thank Megan Matchinske and Larry Goldberg at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In par tic- u lar, I would like to thank Jessica Wolfe, who introduced me not only to Spens- er’s Faerie Queene but also to the jouissance of scholarship. As a gradu ate student at the Pennsylvania State University, I benefited from the stellar early period faculty in both the English and History departments. I would like to thank Robert R. Edwards, Ronnie Hsia, Joan B. Landes, Marcy North, and Linda Woodbridge. A special thanks to Laura L. Knoppers for her continued advice and friendship. Furthermore, I would like to thank the fol- lowing members of the Early Period Studies Group for their conversation and friendship: Ryan Croft, Gabriel Ford, Ryan Hackenbracht, Giuseppina Iacono Lobo, Niamh O’Leary, Chad Schrock, Paul Dustin Stegner, Catherine Thomas, Sarah Breckenridge Wright, and Paul Zajac. I cannot adequately express my gratitude to Patrick Cheney and Garrett A. Sullivan, Jr. for their advice, encouragement, and mentorship throughout the writing of this book. Each of them read multiple drafts of several chapters, and always with the same interest and enthusiasm as though approaching the proj ect for the first time. I am deeply indebted to them both. I am grateful for my colleagues and students at my current institution, Virginia Tech. My department heads, Joseph Eska and Bernice Hausman, have been exemplary in their support. Ernie Sullivan was an excellent mentor when I first arrived in the En glish department. I never would have finished the man- uscript without the help and support of Katy Powell. Peter Potter and Eliza- beth Spiller provided advice and encouragement along the way. I would also like to thank my two gradu ate research assistants: Rachel Wurster and Anna Merz. At Cornell University Press, Mahinder Kingra has been the ideal editor, and I am grateful that he saw the potential in my proj ect. I am particularly indebted ix x ACKNOWL EDGMENTS to the reviewers, Sarah Beckwith and an anonymous reviewer, who read the manuscript closely and wrote highly detailed reports. The final manuscript greatly benefited from their insightful comments and suggestions, as well as from suggestions by Cornell University Press’s faculty and editorial review boards. This proj ect had financial support from a number of sources. At Penn State, I received funding from the Humanities Institute and the Rock Ethics Insti- tute. The Folger Institute funded a short- term fellowship at the Folger Shake- speare Library. The project benefited from my conversation with other fellows, particularly Jay Zysk and Kat Lecky. At Virginia Tech, I also received funding from a Niles Research Grant and the Center for Humanities. Parts of this book have already appeared in print. Portions of chapter 1 ap- peared as “En glish National Identity and the Reformation Prob lem of Clan- destine Marriage in Spenser’s Faerie Queene, Book I,” in Spenser Studies 29 (2014): 75–103. Copyright © 2014 by the University of Chicago Press. Used by per- mission of the publisher. https:// press . uchicago . edu. Portions of chapter 2 first appeared as “ ‘Wanton Loves, and Yong Desires’: Clandestine Marriage in Marlowe’s Hero and Leander and Chapman’s Contin- uation,” in Studies in Philology 108, no. 2 (2011): 215–237. Copyright © 2011 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. https:// www . uncpress . org I have saved the most impor tant people in my life for the end. My parents, John and Pam, and sister, Elizabeth, have been patient, loving, and supportive through these long years. My husband, James, always maintained confidence that I would finish the book, and I am happy to acknowledge officially in print: he was right. I would like to thank my parents- in- law, Jon and Kathy, for their help during the COVID-19 crisis. While I was completing this book, my two daughters— Harriet Elizabeth and Alice Helen—were born. They have brought more joy to my life than I could have ever thought possi ble. I dedicate the book to them. IRREGULAR UNIONS Introduction Making a Clandestine Match in Early Modern En glish Lit er a ture In Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Touchstone, the fool, attempts to marry Audrey, a poor country girl, in a clandestine ceremony in the forest of Arden. Sir Oliver Mar- Text, the would-be officiate of the wed- ding, insists that Audrey “must be given, or the marriage is not lawful” (3.3.69– 70).1 What no one in this scene realizes is that this statement is not technically true: witnesses or participants of any kind were not required to make a legal marriage in early modern England. Sir Oliver’s ineptitude, however, can be forgiven. His misstatement reflects the widespread confusion concerning the making of a match during the period, even on the part of the clergy. Many early modern audience members probably would have nodded along in agree- ment. Since the Book of Common Prayer does call for witnesses, those not fa- miliar with the law could easily assume that they were necessary for a legal union. The Book of Common Prayer also dictates the types of witnesses: a couple’s “frendes and neighbours.”2 Even more specifically, awoman’s “father or frendes” should be the ones to pre sent her to the minister.3 An eavesdrop- per who happens to be lurking in the bushes nearby (in this case, the melan- choly Jaques) would not seem to fall into one of these recommended categories. Jaques, who obligingly offers to give the bride away, also persuades Touchstone to delay the wedding to a more appropriate time and venue: 1 2 INTRODUCTION And will you (being a man of your breeding) be married under a bush like a beggar? Get you to church, and have a good priest that can tell you what marriage is. This fellow will but join you together as they join wainscot; then one of you will prove a shrunk panel, and like green timber warp, warp. (3.3.83–89) By ordering Touchstone to “get . ​to church,” Jaques informs the fool that a nuptial ceremony with an officiate and a stranger giving away the bride does not fulfill the proper requirements. Even more tellingly, he insists that the mar- riage be performed by a more qualified minister, “a good priest who can tell you what marriage is,” so that the union does not “warp” over time. Perform- ing the appropriate rituals is just as impor tant as thoroughly understanding the duties and responsibilities associated with marriage.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • University Microfilms. Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan
    7 0 -m -,1 1 9 WILLIS, Craig Dean, 1935- THE TUDORS AND THEIR TUTORS: A STUDY OF SIXTEENTH CENTURY ROYAL EDUCATION IN BRITAIN. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1969 Education, history University Microfilms. Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan © Copyright by Craig Dean W illis 1970 THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED THE TUDORS AND THEIR- TUTORS: A STUDY OF SIXTEENTH CENTURY ROYAL EDUCATION IN BRITAIN DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University SY Craig Dean W illis, B.A., M.A. IHt- -tttt -H-H- The Ohio State U niversity 1969 Adviser t School of Education ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To Dr. Robert B. Sutton, my major adviser, I owe a major debt of gratitude for his guidance, encouragement, and scholarly qualifies* I also wish to thank the members of the reading committee for their contribution; and in particular, I want to express appreciation to Dr. Richard J. Frankie and the late Dr. Earl Anderson for their professional and meaningful assistance. It is appropriate to thank the administrative officers at Ohio Wesleyan University for their encouragement and willingness to let me arrange my work around my graduate studies. Persons of particular help were Dr, Allan C. Ingraham, Dr. Elden T. Smith, Dr. Emerson C. Shuck, and Dr. Robert P. Lisensky. My family has been of invaluable assistance to me, and it is to them that I dedicate the study of the education of the Tudor family. My parents, J. Russell and Glenna A. W illis, have helped in many ways, both overt and subtle.
    [Show full text]
  • Marriage Patterns of Aristocratic British Women, 1485-2000 By
    Marrying by the Numbers: Marriage Patterns of Aristocratic British Women, 1485-2000 By: Kimberly F. Schutte Submitted to the graduate degree program in History and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Dr. Katherine Clark Chairperson Dr. Victor Bailey Dr. J.C.D. Clark Dr. Geraldo de Sousa Dr. Leslie Tuttle Date Defended: April 18, 2011 The Dissertation Committee for Kimberly F. Schutte certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Marrying by the Numbers: Marriage Patterns of Aristocratic British Women, 1485-2000 _________Katherine Clark_____ Chairperson Dr. Katherine Clark Date Approved: April 18, 2011 ii Abstract This project is a study of the marriage patterns of aristocratic British women over the more than five-century period between 1485 and 2000. It employs a two-fold evidentiary base, combining a demographic analysis with a more traditional analysis of primary sources such as letters, journals, and diaries. Together, the statistical and the written evidence provide a window into the intersection of marriage and rank among elite British women between the sixteenth and the twentieth centuries. As a result of this research, this dissertation argues that there was a remarkable level of consistency in rank identity among the British aristocracy despite great changes in government, religion, and society. iii Acknowledgements A project that has been a lifetime in the completion necessarily accumulates a number of debts, both professional and personal, debts that I gratefully acknowledge here. This work has been conducted under the painstaking guidance of my advisor, Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • A Search for the Historical Lady Jane Dudley in Light of Her Later Portrayals Rachel Wisdom Washington University in St Louis
    Washington University in St. Louis Washington University Open Scholarship Undergraduate Theses—Unrestricted Spring 5-2011 “God and Posterity Will Show Me Favor”: A Search for the Historical Lady Jane Dudley in Light of Her Later Portrayals Rachel Wisdom Washington University in St Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/undergrad_open Part of the European History Commons Recommended Citation Wisdom, Rachel, "“God and Posterity Will Show Me Favor”: A Search for the Historical Lady Jane Dudley in Light of Her Later Portrayals" (2011). Undergraduate Theses—Unrestricted. 50. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/undergrad_open/50 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Theses—Unrestricted by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Wisdom 1 Acknowledgments I would like to thank Dr. Derek Hirst, the William Eliot Smith Professor of History at Washington University, for his invaluable help in preparing this thesis. Without his assistance in outlining, editing, and locating research materials, this project could never have been completed. I have been in awe of Professor Hirst’s breadth of knowledge of the period since our first meeting, and I cannot imagine writing a thesis without him as my advisor. I also wish to thank my parents, Rod and Gail Wisdom, and my grandparents, Matt and Zelda Gambill and Clint Wisdom, for their financial support of my education. I would not be graduating from Washington University without them. Wisdom 2 A Note on the Names Several of the historical figures discussed had names that vary in spelling between texts.
    [Show full text]
  • Tna Prob 11/21/272
    THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES PROB 11/21/272 1 ________________________________________________________________________ SUMMARY: The document below is the Prerogative Court of Canterbury copy of the will, dated 1 August 1524 and proved 1 February 1525, of Sir William Scott (d. 24 August 1524), Comptroller of the Household to Henry VII, Warden of the Cinque Ports, and Marshal of Calais. The testator was the great-grandfather of Thomas Keyes, Sergeant Porter to Queen Elizabeth, who married Lady Mary Grey. The testator was the grandfather of Jane Scott, whose daughter married Edward Windsor, grandson of Oxford’s half sister, Katherine de Vere. Three witnesses to the testator’s will were related to persons involved in the lawsuit Hales v Petit, alluded to in the gravedigger’s speech in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. For an earlier transcript of the testator’s will, see Scott, James Renat, Memorials of the Family of Scott of Scot’s-Hall in the County of Kent, (London: J. R. Scott, 1876), pp. 135- 9 at: https://archive.org/stream/memorialsoffamil00scot#page/134/mode/2up FAMILY BACKGROUND For the Scott family, see Memorials, supra, pp. 135-9, 174-93, lxiv-lxv, and the pedigree pp. 254-5 at: https://archive.org/stream/memorialsoffamil00scot#page/254/mode/2up Testator’s parents The testator was the son and heir of Sir John Scott of Scott’s Hall in Smeeth, Kent, by Agnes Beaufitz, daughter and coheiress of William Beaufitz. For the inquisition post mortem taken after the testator’s death, see TNA C 142/44/102. MARRIAGE AND ISSUE The testator married Sibyl Lewknor, the daughter of Sir Thomas Lewknor (d.
    [Show full text]