Tag Archives: Widows

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 [?]“

John Maliber c. Agnes Dalston alias Boste

John Maliber sued Agnes Dalston alias Boste in 1493, claiming that she had unjustly withheld from him a bequest or legacy from her late husband, Thomas Dalston. Maliber had been Thomas Dalston’s apprentice, only newly beginning the usual seven-year term when Dalston died in 1484. Dalston’s surviving will indicates that he was a citizen glover.[1]Continue reading “John Maliber c. Agnes Dalston alias Boste”

Alice Brigge c. William Markis

This defamation case from the Essex parishes south of Colchester tells us a number of interesting things both about local-level dispute resolution and about sexual chastity and an unmarried woman’s reputation. At least according to the witnesses called to testify on Alice Brigge’s behalf, William Markis of Essex publicly accused her in the parish church,Continue reading “Alice Brigge c. William Markis”