Wingard, Tim orcid.org/0000-0002-8273-7983 (2022) The trial of Thomas Frogbrook:bestiality and the law in an early sixteenth-century English rural community. Historical Research. 506–521. ISSN 0950-3471
Abstract
This article examines the gap between legal theory and practice regarding bestiality in late medieval England. It focuses on a microhistorical analysis of a 1520 trial heard in Chichester consistory court, integrating other archival documents, legislation and legal commentaries to illustrate local and national contexts. I argue first that personal enmity rather than a moralizing agenda was the primary motivating factor in this case, and second that this trial illustrates the broader limitations of English church courts and the system of canon law in affecting popular attitudes to ‘unnatural’ intercourse and in the suppression of such acts.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2022 |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (York) > History (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 04 Jan 2023 17:10 |
Last Modified: | 25 Mar 2025 00:13 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1093/hisres/htac011 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/hisres/htac011 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:194912 |
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Description: The trial of Thomas Frogbrook: bestiality and the law in an early sixteenth-century English rural community
Licence: CC-BY 2.5