| Popis: |
This chapter considers definitions of illicit behaviour and bastardy during this period, and the ways in which they shape the sources available to us. It will commence with the theoretical legal position expounded by both ecclesiastical and secular jurisdictions. It describes the debates around annulment, separation and divorce. It considers the formal mechanisms through which behaviour was categorised and responded to, especially in the church courts, the ways these were extended in the sixteenth century, and the patterns of enforcement during the period, especially in the intense period of activity of the northern High Commission in the 1570s. |
