Fornication – Consistory

Agnes Waltham c. Richard Heth

Agnes Waltham sued Richard Heth in 1487 to enforce a marriage contract she said they had made. The testimony reveals some interesting evidence about neighbourhood surveillance of relationships: one of the witnesses, John Gosnell, said that he had confronted Heth about his improper visits to Waltham’s house and pressured him into contracting marriage with herContinue reading “Agnes Waltham c. Richard Heth”

Office c. Sir Richard Wodehous and Agnes Wilson [?]

In July 1487 a widow, Agnes Wilson, of Staines, Middlesex, or somewhere nearby, was examined regarding allegations that she and the local vicar, Sir Richard Wodehous, were engaging in a sexual relationship. [Note that “Sir” was the honorific title used for priests as well as for knights, similar to “Father” or “Reverend” today.] This isContinue reading “Office c. Sir Richard Wodehous and Agnes Wilson [?]“

Beatrice Smyth c John Crote

In July 1487, Beatrice Smyth sued John Crote to enforce a marriage contract she claimed they had made around 1482 while Crote lay ill in a chamber in the tower of the parish church of St Michael Queenhithe, where he worked. Witnesses testified that after this bedside exchange of consent, however, the couple could notContinue reading “Beatrice Smyth c John Crote”

Alice Parker c. Richard Tenwinter

This case involves ambiguous promises and different interpretations of the meaning of sex. Alice Parker probably lived in the parish of St Nicholas Shambles by the butchers’ stalls towards the western edge of city of London. She received a visit in December 1487 from Richard Tenwinter and his friend, Robert Adcok. Tenwinter and Parker wentContinue reading “Alice Parker c. Richard Tenwinter“

Christian Hilles c. Robert Padley

The town of Stanford Rivers, Essex, saw a drama of thwarted love and premarital pregnancy in 1489 and 1490. Christian Hilles and Robert Padley, two servants who worked for the same employer, courted seriously with one another between March and October 1489, exchanging gifts and talk of marriage. According to local rumour, they had aContinue reading “Christian Hilles c. Robert Padley“

Joan Munden c. John Fynke

In this case from the town of Walthamstow in Essex, Joan Munden sued John Fynke to enforce a contract of marriage she claimed he made with her but which he refused to honour. As the testimony indicates, the meaning of gifts and sex in a relationship between an unmarried man and woman were ambiguous. Legally,Continue reading “Joan Munden c. John Fynke”

Avice [Unknown] c. Richard Clerk

For this case, only the response of the defendant survives. We can infer from Richard Clerk’s answers that he had been sued by a woman named Avice who alleged that the two had contracted marriage. He admitted that on a spring day in a field he had urged her to have sex with him asContinue reading “Avice [Unknown] c. Richard Clerk”

Alice [Unknown] c. John Remyngton

Though only the response of the defendant survives for this case and even the full name of the plaintiff is unknown, we can infer some of her claims from John Remyngton’s denials: she evidently argued that they had exchanged tokens of marriage and had slept together as man and wife. Remyngton denied that either meantContinue reading “Alice [Unknown] c. John Remyngton”

William Ely c. Master Richard Draper

In theory excommunication – expulsion from the community of the faithful – was a drastic measure in medieval Christianity. In late medieval England, however, it was most often used for relatively mild rather than terrible sins, particularly for the failure to obey summonses, orders, and sanctions issued by church courts. This may have dulled itsContinue reading “William Ely c. Master Richard Draper”