DOCSLIB.ORG

Judicial Tribunals in England and Europe, 1200 1700.Pdf

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Judicial Tribunals in England and Europe, 1200 1700.Pdf Judicial tribunals in England and Europe, 1200–1700 i ii Judicial tribunals in England and Europe, 1200–1700 The trial in history, volume I edited by Maureen Mulholland and Brian Pullan with Anne Pullan Manchester University Press Manchester and New York distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave iii Copyright © Manchester University Press 2003 While copyright in the volume as a whole is vested in Manchester University Press, copyright in individual chapters belongs to their respective authors. This electronic version has been made freely available under a Creative Commons (CC-BY-NC- ND) licence, which permits non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction provided the author(s) and Manchester University Press are fully cited and no modifications or adaptations are made. Details of the licence can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Published by Manchester University Press Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9NR, UK and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for ISBN 0 7190 6342 6 hardback First published 2003 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Typeset in Photina by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong Printed in Great Britain by Bookcraft (Bath) Ltd, Midsomer Norton iv Contents Tables vi Contributors vii Acknowledgements x Abbreviations xi Introduction Maureen Mulholland 1 1 What is a trial? Joseph Jaconelli 18 2 The role of amateur and professional judges in the royal courts of late medieval England Anthony Musson 37 3 Was the jury ever self informing? Daniel Klerman 58 4 Trials in manorial courts in late medieval England Maureen Mulholland 81 5 Judges and trials in the English ecclesiastical courts R. H. Helmholz 102 6 The attempted trial of Boniface VIII for heresy Jeffrey Denton 117 7 Reasonable doubt: defences advanced in early modern sodomy trials in Geneva William G. Naphy 129 8 Testifying to the self: nuns’ narratives in early modern Venice Mary Laven 147 9 The trial of Giorgio Moreto before the Inquisition in Venice, 1589 Brian Pullan 159 Index 183 v Tables 3.1 Jury verdicts by level of appellor participation, 1218–22 and 1246–94 63 3.2 Testimony in eyre plea rolls by topic and speaker, 1221–86 71 7.1 Specific Genevan trials mentioned 132 7.2 Genevan trials, an overview 134 vi Contributors Jeffrey Denton, formerly Professor of Medieval History in the University of Manchester, is now Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of His- tory of the University of Sheffield. Among his recent works are ‘Taxation and the conflict between Philip the Fair and Boniface VIII’, French History, 11 (1997), 241–64, and ‘Towards a new edition of the Taxatio Ecclesiastica Angliae et Walliae Auctoritate Nicholai IV circa 1291’, Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, 79 (1997), 67–79. He is the editor of Orders and Hierarchies in Late Medieval and Renaissance Europe (Basingstoke and London, 1999). He is working on a new edition of texts relating to the Anglo-Papal crisis of 1301–3, on a new electronic and hard-copy edition of the 1291 assessment of the value of English and Welsh ecclesiastical benefices, and on an edition of the episcopal acta of the bishops of Coventry and Lichfield in the thirteenth century. R. H. Helmholz is Ruth Wyatt Rosenson Distinguished Service Professor in the Law School of the University of Chicago. His recent books include Ro- man Canon Law in Reformation England (Cambridge, 1990); The Spirit of Clas- sical Canon Law (Athens, Georgia, 1996); and The ius commune in England: Four Studies (New York, 2001). He is now at work on a general history of the canon law and ecclesiastical jurisdiction in England for the series The History of English Laws, to be published by Oxford University Press. Joseph Jaconelli is Reader in Law at the University of Manchester. He has a long-standing interest in issues of publicity and secrecy in the conduct of trials, as reflected in his articles: ‘Some thoughts on jury secrecy’, Legal Studies, 10 (1990), 91–103, and ‘Rights theories and public trial’, Journal of Applied Philosophy, 14 (1997), 169–75. His monograph on the subject, Open Justice. A Critique of the Public Trial, was published in 2002 by Oxford University Press. He is also the author of Enacting a Bill of Rights: The Legal Problems (Oxford, 1980). vii Contributors Daniel Klerman is Professor of Law and History in the University of Southern California Law School. His publications include ‘Settlement and the decline of private prosecution in thirteenth-century England’, Law and History Re- view, 19 (2001), 1–65, and also ‘Non-promotion and judicial independ- ence’, Southern California Law Review, 72 (1999), 455–63. An article, ‘Statistical and economic methods in legal history’, is to be published in Illinois Law Review, and another, ‘Women prosecutors in thirteenth- century England’, is forthcoming in Yale Journal of Law and Humanities. He was awarded the 2001 David Yale Prize of the Selden Society for ‘distin- guished contribution to the history of the laws and legal institutions of England and Wales’. He is now working on a project which explores the effects of jurisdictional competition on the development of English law. Mary Laven is a University Lecturer at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Jesus College. She is the author of Virgins of Venice: Enclosed Lives and Broken Vows in the Renaissance Convent (London, 2002) and of several articles on Venetian convents, including ‘Sex and celibacy in early modern Venice’, The Historical Journal, 44 (2001), 865–88. She is embarking on a new study of sociability in early modern Italy. Maureen Mulholland is Honorary Lecturer (formerly Lecturer) in Law at the University of Manchester. She is an editor of the seventeenth and eight- eenth editions and supplements of Clerk and Lindsell on Tort (London, re- spectively 1995 and 2000) and has contributed articles on English legal history to J. Cannon (ed.), The Oxford Companion to British History (Oxford, 1997). With M. Brazier, she has contributed a chapter on ‘Droit et Sida; le Royaume Uni’, to J. Foyer and L. Khaiat (eds), Droit et Sida, comparaison internationale (Paris, 1994), pp. 363–86, and another on ‘AIDS and the law’ to R. Bennet, C. Erin and J. Harris (eds), AIDS. Ethics, Justice and Euro- pean Policy (Luxembourg, 1998), pp. 97–157. Her article ‘The jury in Eng- lish manorial courts’ has recently appeared in J. W. Cairns and G. McLeod (eds), The Jury in the History of the Common Law (Oxford and Portland, Oregon, 2002), pp. 63–73. Anthony Musson is Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Exeter. He is the author of Public Order and Law Enforcement: The Local Administration of Criminal Justice, 1294–1350 (Woodbridge, 1996); ‘Twelve good men and true? The character of early fourteenth-century juries’, Law and History Review, 15 (1997), 115–44; (with W. M. Ormrod) The Evolution of English Justice: Law, Politics and Society in the Fourteenth Century (Basingstoke, 1998); and Medieval Law in Context: The Growth of Legal Consciousness from Magna Carta to the Peasants’ Revolt (Manchester, 2001). He is now working on two books: English Law in the Middle Ages: A Social History, for the Medieval Worlds series of Hambledon and London; and Crime, Law and Society in the Later Middle Ages, for the Medieval Texts and Sources series of Manchester University Press. viii Contributors William G. Naphy is Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of History in the School of History and History of Art at the University of Aberdeen. Among his recent publications are Fear in Early Modern Society, which he edited with P. Roberts (Manchester, 1997); Plagues, Poisons and Potions: Conspiring to Spread Plague in the Western Alps, c. 1530–1640 (Manchester, 2002); ‘Sodomy in early modern Geneva: various definitions, diverse ver- dicts’, in T. Betteridge (ed.), Sodomy and Sexual Deviance in Early Modern Europe (Manchester, 2002), pp. 94–111; and (ed. with H. Parish) Religion and Superstition in Reformation Europe (Manchester, 2002). He is now work- ing on a monograph concerning the criminalisation of sexual activity in early modern Geneva. Brian Pullan is Emeritus Professor of Modern History in the University of Man- chester. His books include Rich and Poor in Renaissance Venice: The Social Institutions of a Catholic State, to 1620 (Oxford, 1971); The Jews of Europe and the Inquisition of Venice, 1550–1670 (Oxford, 1983, reprint, London, 1997); and Poverty and Charity: Europe, Italy, Venice 1400–1700 (Alder- shot, 1994). He is one of the editors (with D. S. Chambers and J. Fletcher) of Venice: A Documentary History 1450–1630 (Oxford, 1992). He is now work- ing, with the assistance of M. Abendstern, on the recent history of the Uni- versity of Manchester. One volume, A History of the University of Manchester 1951–73 (Manchester, 2000), has appeared, and a second volume is in progress. ix Acknowledgements Earlier versions of some of the chapters in this volume were delivered at a conference on ‘The Trial in History’ held in Manchester on 17–19 September 1999. This conference was organised by the Department of History of the University of Manchester in association with the Faculty (now the School) of Law, and with the advice and help of members of the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine and of the Departments of Philosophy and of Social An- thropology. Further financial contributions in support of the conference were made by the British Academy Humanities Research Board, the University of Manchester, Messrs Eversheds, Solicitors of Manchester, and the J.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • View 2019 Edition Online
    Emmanuel Emmanuel College College MAGAZINE 2018–2019 Front Court, engraved by R B Harraden, 1824 VOL CI MAGAZINE 2018–2019 VOLUME CI Emmanuel College St Andrew’s Street Cambridge CB2 3AP Telephone +44 (0)1223 334200 The Master, Dame Fiona Reynolds, in the new portrait by Alastair Adams May Ball poster 1980 THE YEAR IN REVIEW I Emmanuel College MAGAZINE 2018–2019 VOLUME CI II EMMANUEL COLLEGE MAGAZINE 2018–2019 The Magazine is published annually, each issue recording college activities during the preceding academical year. It is circulated to all members of the college, past and present. Copy for the next issue should be sent to the Editors before 30 June 2020. News about members of Emmanuel or changes of address should be emailed to [email protected], or via the ‘Keeping in Touch’ form: https://www.emma.cam.ac.uk/members/keepintouch. College enquiries should be sent to [email protected] or addressed to the Development Office, Emmanuel College, Cambridge CB2 3AP. General correspondence concerning the Magazine should be addressed to the General Editor, College Magazine, Dr Lawrence Klein, Emmanuel College, Cambridge CB2 3AP. Correspondence relating to obituaries should be addressed to the Obituaries Editor (The Dean, The Revd Jeremy Caddick), Emmanuel College, Cambridge CB2 3AP. The college telephone number is 01223 334200, and the email address is [email protected]. If possible, photographs to accompany obituaries and other contributions should be high-resolution scans or original photos in jpeg format. The Editors would like to express their thanks to the many people who have contributed to this issue, with a special nod to the unstinting assistance of the College Archivist.
    [Show full text]
  • Some Notes on Manors & Manorial History
    SOME NOTES ON MANORS & MANORIAL HISTORY BY A. HAMILTON THOMPSON, M.A.. D.Litt.. F.B.A..F.S.A. Some Notes on Manors & Manorial History By A. Hamilton Thompson, M.A., D.Litt., F.B.A., F.S.A. The popular idea of a manor assumes that it is a fixed geo­ graphical area with definite boundaries, which belongs to a lord with certain rights over his tenants. In common usage, we speak of this or that lordship, almost in the same way in which we refer to a parish. It is very difficult, however, to give the word an exclusively geographical meaning. If we examine one of those documents which are known as Inquisitions post mortem, for example, we shall find that, at the death of a tenant who holds his property directly from the Crown, the king's escheator will make an extent, that is, a detailed valuation, of his manors. This will consist for the most part of a list of a number of holdings with names of the tenants, specifying the rent or other services due to the lord from each. These holdings will, it is true, be generally gathered together in one or more vills or townships, of which the manor may roughly be said to consist. But it will often be found that there are outlying holdings in other vills which owe service to a manor, the nucleus of which is at some distance. Thus the members of the manor of Rothley lay scattered at various distances from their centre, divided from it and from each other by other lordships.
    [Show full text]
  • A Short History of Hereford
    A S H O RT H I STO RY OF H EREFORD . W I LLI AM COLLI NS , A utho of Mode n H e e fo d The An lican Chu che s r r r r , g r " f H e e fo d The Ma o s o H e e o d o f f &c . r r , y r r r , H E R E FOR D J AKE MAN AND CA RV E R . D E D I CATE D to the Memory of the su pporters of the principle of l - se f government throughout the centuries of the past ; and , in particular , to the Memory of the late Alderman Charles P al ll Anthony , J . and his Municip Co eagues and successors , wh o by their marvellous achievements and noble devotion have laid the foundations of OD O M ERN HEREF RD , upon which the happiness and prosperity of the citizens is now being built . ~ 157569 3 I NTROD UCTI ON . The City of the Wye is a very ancient place ; and the centre of a district of which our knowledge dates back t o the days of J ulius Caesar ; or about fifty years before the birth of Jesus Christ . It was known to the old Britons as erf aw d d Ca y , which means the town of the beechwood ; 6 6 and in the year 7 , the date of the foundation of the bishop k n ric, the name was changed to Hereford , by which it is now to this day .
    [Show full text]
  • July-August 2017
    The Newsletter of Temple Beth Hillel of Valley Village July–August 2017 Tammuz–Av–Elul 5777 S A V E T H E D A T E ! Shabba-Que & Welcome Back Shabbat * FREE/children 3 and under Stay for a great $5/kids (11 and under) Shabbat experience $10/adults led by TBH clergy. Friday, August 25th at 5:30 p.m. *New members and potential guests to TBH can come as Rabbi Sarah's guest. Contact [email protected] by August 22 at 5:00 p.m. Inside From Our Rabbi ............................................. 2 Important School Dates ................................. 5 Temple Funds ............................................... 10 Shabbat & Holiday Observances ................. 3 70th Gala Thank Yous ................................... 6 In Our Community ........................................ 11 Women of TBH ............................................... 4 Leadership ..................................................... 7 A Message From Our Executive Director..... 11 Brotherhood .................................................... 5 Calendar of Events ......................................... 7 High Holy Day Schedule ............................... 12 Cub Master's Corner ..................................... 5 1 From Our Rabbi Special Music Announcement by Rabbi Sarah Hronsky 12326 Riverside Drive Valley Village, CA 91607 e have some exciting news for Temple Zemer Josh and hear samples of his album at 818–763–9148 • www.tbhla.org WBeth Hillel! We know that music is the www.joshgoldbergmusic.com. heartbeat of our worship experiences. While It is such a joy for all of us to have Cantor the words of prayer may quickly engage our Patti Linsky returning again this year. Cantor minds, it is the music that grabs our hearts, gets Linsky will work with our adult choir and lead OFFICERS, BOARD OF TRUSTEES & CHAIRS our fingers and toes tapping, bodies swaying, our congregation in prayer.
    [Show full text]
  • Lambeth Palace Library Research Guide Biographical Sources for Archbishops of Canterbury from 1052 to the Present Day
    Lambeth Palace Library Research Guide Biographical Sources for Archbishops of Canterbury from 1052 to the Present Day 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 3 2 Abbreviations Used ....................................................................................................... 4 3 Archbishops of Canterbury 1052- .................................................................................. 5 Stigand (1052-70) .............................................................................................................. 5 Lanfranc (1070-89) ............................................................................................................ 5 Anselm (1093-1109) .......................................................................................................... 5 Ralph d’Escures (1114-22) ................................................................................................ 5 William de Corbeil (1123-36) ............................................................................................. 5 Theobold of Bec (1139-61) ................................................................................................ 5 Thomas Becket (1162-70) ................................................................................................. 6 Richard of Dover (1174-84) ............................................................................................... 6 Baldwin (1184-90) ............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England a Revised
    BEDE'S ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND A REVISED TRANSLATION WITH INTRODUCTION, LIFE, AND NOTES BY A. M. SELLAR LATE VICE-PRINCIPAL OF LADY MARGARET HALL, OXFORD LONDON GEORGE BELL AND SONS 1907 EDITOR'S PREFACE The English version of the "Ecclesiastical History" in the following pages is a revision of the translation of Dr. Giles, which is itself a revision of the earlier rendering of Stevens. In the present edition very considerable alterations have been made, but the work of Dr. Giles remains the basis of the translation. The Latin text used throughout is Mr. Plummer's. Since the edition of Dr. Giles appeared in 1842, so much fresh work on the subject has been done, and recent research has brought so many new facts to light, that it has been found necessary to rewrite the notes almost entirely, and to add a new introduction. After the appearance of Mr. Plummer's edition of the Historical Works of Bede, it might seem superfluous, for the present at least, to write any notes at all on the "Ecclesiastical History." The present volume, however, is intended to fulfil a different and much humbler function. There has been no attempt at any original work, and no new theories are advanced. The object of the book is merely to present in a short and convenient form the substance of the views held by trustworthy authorities, and it is hoped that it may be found useful by those students who have either no time or no inclination to deal with more important works. Among the books of which most use has been made, are Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Process and Policy in the Courts of the Roman Curiat
    CALIFORNIA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 58:628 The Steady Man: Process and Policy in the Courts of the Roman Curiat John T. Noonan, Jr.* The two marriages of Charles, Duke of Lorraine, led to one of the most fascinating canonical trials of the seventeenth century. Professor Noonan uses this trial and its attendant circumstances as a springboard from which to examine the policies, procedures, and politics of post-RenaissanceRoman Catholic law. His Article under- lines the problems faced by a legal system that attempts to regulate the relationshipbetween man and woman. In broader perspective, it analyzes the reaction of a legal system forced to compromise between abstract social values and practical necessity. Professor Noonan's analytical framework can be profitably utilized as a tool to examine the manner in which our current social policies are implemented and administered. Anthropology rightly devotes great effort to deciphering the primi- tive attempts of men to make law in the primordial patterns, for from this effort will come material to illuminate our own behavior. But just as child psychology does not exhaust the study of man, so there is need to understand critically the functions of law in a more sophisticated phase. In its developed uses we are more likely to see analogues to our present problems, more likely to gain insights into the purposes, perver- sions, characteristics, and limits of the legal way of ordering human behavior in a mature society. Especially is this true of a system far enough removed from our own to be looked at from a distance but close enough in its assumption and its methods so that comprehension is not strained.
    [Show full text]
  • Wakefield, West Riding: the Economy of a Yorkshire Manor
    WAKEFIELD, WEST RIDING: THE ECONOMY OF A YORKSHIRE MANOR By BRUCE A. PAVEY Bachelor of Arts Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma 1991 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS May, 1993 OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY WAKEFIELD, WEST RIDING: THE ECONOMY OF A YORKSHIRE MANOR Thesis Approved: ~ ThesiSAd er £~ A J?t~ -Dean of the Graduate College ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to to the faculty and staff of the Department of History, and especially the members of my advisory committee for the generous sharing of their time and knowledge during my stay at O.S.U. I must thank Dr. Alain Saint-Saens for his generous encouragement and advice concerning not only graduate work but the historian's profession in general; also Dr. Joseph Byrnes for so kindly serving on my committee at such short notice. To Dr. Ron Petrin I extend my heartfelt appreciation for his unflagging concern for my academic progress; our relationship has been especially rewarding on both an academic and personal level. In particular I would like to thank my friend and mentor, Dr. Paul Bischoff who has guided my explorations of the medieval world and its denizens. His dogged--and occasionally successful--efforts to develop my skills are directly responsible for whatever small progress I may have made as an historian. To my friends and fellow teaching assistants I extend warmest thanks for making the past two years so enjoyable. For the many hours of comradeship and mutual sympathy over the trials and tribulations of life as a teaching assistant I thank Wendy Gunderson, Sandy Unruh, Deidre Myers, Russ Overton, Peter Kraemer, and Kelly McDaniels.
    [Show full text]
  • CONFIDENTIALITY of ECCLESIASTICAL Recordst
    The Catholic Lawyer Volume 30 Number 3 Volume 30, Autumn 1986, Number 3 Article 2 Confidentiality of cclesiasticalE Records Reverend Edward Dillion, J.C.D. Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/tcl Part of the Catholic Studies Commons This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Catholic Lawyer by an authorized editor of St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONFIDENTIALITY OF ECCLESIASTICAL RECORDSt REVEREND EDWARD DILLON, J.C.D.* Two fundamental factors govern the confidentiality of ecclesiastical records. They are the nature of the information involved and the manner in which it is obtained. Thus, confessional matter, by its nature, is confi- dential. Further, since it involves information obtained under the seal of the Sacrament, it may never be divulged.' The cloak of confidentiality spread to other communications. Canon 1548, section 2 exempts from any obligation of testifying in an ecclesiasti- cal trial the following persons: "clerics, in regard to whatever was made known to them in connection with their sacred ministry; civil officials, doctors, obstetricians, advocates, notaries and others who are bound to professional secrecy, even by reason of advice rendered, as regards mat- ters subject to this secrecy." A party to a case could release such a person from the obligation of confidentiality, but there are exceptions, the most significant of which is the seal of confession.2 This exemption is extended t The portion of this presentation which deals with the confidentiality of Tribunal records is drawn almost exclusively from a presentation by the same author to the 45th Annual Convention of the Canon Law Society of America held in San Francisco, Cal., in October, 1983.
    [Show full text]
  • Office of the Tribunal TERMS USED in MARRIAGE CASES
    Office of the Tribunal 215 N. Westnedge Street, Kalamazoo MI 49007-3760; 269-903-0215 TERMS USED IN MARRIAGE CASES Affirmative and negative decision. An affirmative decision means the Tribunal or Bishop has found a marriage to be proven invalid according to Church law, with more certainty. A negative decision means that invalidity has not been proven. Assessor. Tribunal official who helps evaluate proofs (evidence) for the Tribunal or Bishop who will judge the marriage case. Case name. To clearly identify a case, the last name of the man and the maiden name of the woman are used in conjunction with the case number (see below). Refer to both when contacting the Tribunal. Case number. A control number that identifies the case in conjunction with the case name (above). Refer to both when contacting the Tribunal. Code of Canon Law and Dignatis Connubii. The source of Catholic Church laws regulating marriage cases. College of judges. Panel of three judges who decide the case in an ordinary process. These are the presiding judge, the ponens and the associate judge. The ponens directs the process and commits the decision of the college to a written sentence. Decree or declaration of nullity or invalidity. A judgment by church authority that a marriage thought valid according to Catholic Church law, actually lacked at least one essential element required for a valid, binding union. Often but imprecisely called annulment. To declare the nullity of marriage is absolutely different from decreeing the annulment of the marriage. Defender of the Bond. Tribunal official who must review the case and present any reasonable arguments or observations, always respecting the truth, that contribute to protecting the bond of marriage and the integrity of the legal process.
    [Show full text]
  • C.1530 Sarah Raskin
    False Oaths The Silent Alliance between Church and Heretics in England, c.1400-c.1530 Sarah Raskin Submitted in partial fulFillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2016 © 2016 Sarah Raskin All rights reserved ABSTRACT False Oaths: The Silent Alliance between Church and Heretics in England, c. 1400-1530 Sarah Raskin This dissertation re-examines trials for heresy in England from 1382, which saw the First major action directed at the WyclifFite heresy in Oxford, and the early Reformation period, with an emphasis on abjurations, the oaths renouncing heretical beliefs that suspects were required to swear after their interrogations were concluded. It draws a direct link between the customs that developed around the ceremony of abjuration and the exceptionally low rate of execution for “relapsed” and “obstinate” heretics in England, compared to other major European anti-heresy campaigns of the period. Several cases are analyzed in which heretics who should have been executed, according to the letter and intention of canon law on the subject, were permitted to abjure, sometimes repeatedly. Other cases ended in execution despite intense efforts by the presiding bishop to obtain a similarly law-bending abjuration. All these cases are situated in the context of the constitutions governing heresy trials as well as a survey of the theology and cultural standing of oaths within both WyclifFism and the broader Late Medieval and Early Modern world. This dissertation traces how Lollard heretics gradually accepted the necessity of false abjuration as one of a number of measures to preserve their lives and their movement, and how early adopters using coded writing carefully persuaded their co-religionists of this necessity.
    [Show full text]
  • Memorials of Old Staffordshire, Beresford, W
    M emorials o f the C ounties of E ngland General Editor: R e v . P. H. D i t c h f i e l d , M.A., F.S.A., F.R.S.L., F.R.Hist.S. M em orials of O ld S taffordshire B e r e s f o r d D a l e . M em orials o f O ld Staffordshire EDITED BY REV. W. BERESFORD, R.D. AU THOft OF A History of the Diocese of Lichfield A History of the Manor of Beresford, &c. , E d i t o r o f North's .Church Bells of England, &■V. One of the Editorial Committee of the William Salt Archaeological Society, &c. Y v, * W ith many Illustrations LONDON GEORGE ALLEN & SONS, 44 & 45 RATHBONE PLACE, W. 1909 [All Rights Reserved] T O T H E RIGHT REVEREND THE HONOURABLE AUGUSTUS LEGGE, D.D. LORD BISHOP OF LICHFIELD THESE MEMORIALS OF HIS NATIVE COUNTY ARE BY PERMISSION DEDICATED PREFACE H ILST not professing to be a complete survey of Staffordshire this volume, we hope, will W afford Memorials both of some interesting people and of some venerable and distinctive institutions; and as most of its contributors are either genealogically linked with those persons or are officially connected with the institutions, the book ought to give forth some gleams of light which have not previously been made public. Staffordshire is supposed to have but little actual history. It has even been called the playground of great people who lived elsewhere. But this reproach will not bear investigation.
    [Show full text]