Satirising lawyers in sixteenth-century dialogue

This article examines how the portrayal of lawyers in sixteenth-century dialogues – including many written by lawyers – amplifies satirical tropes inherited from classical and medieval sources, which depict lawyers as verbose, avaricious, frequently irreligious figures, actively stirring up contention for private gain. It sets the intensification of these stereotypical critiques within the context of the rise of litigation in the sixteenth century, and sharp increases in the ‘lower orders’ of legal practitioners (attorneys): changes which rapidly led to satirical tropes becoming cultural commonplaces, as evidenced by proverbs, passing analogies, and compositorial error. The article traces the tensions between different branches of the law (civilians and common lawyers) and its ‘lower’ and ‘upper’ orders, alongside a simultaneous tendency to treat them as a homogeneous group, sharing the same failings. Further to that, it connects anxieties about lawyers to wider concerns about behaviours and processes that are seen to threaten the social fabric, including social mobility; the abuse of eloquence; irreligion; and the erosion of charity, as people profit from – rather than alleviate – others’ misery. In the process, it highlights the position of comedy – serious joking – in addressing matters of grave concern, and the use of satire to cultivate reform.