"[S]he never ought to hym any peny therof": Debt, Dispute, and the Marketplace in the Early Sixteenth-Century Courts of Chancery and Star Chamber

Language used before late medieval English equity courts can reveal social and cultural norms. The protracted legal battle of maligned rights, injury, unsettled debts, and stolen goods at the heart of this article illustrates the legal pluralism and gender-neutral claims to helplessness common at th...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Staples, Kate Kelsey (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, Inc. 2022
In: The sixteenth century journal
Year: 2022, Volume: 53, Issue: 4, Pages: 1021-1043
IxTheo Classification:KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history
KBF British Isles
NBE Anthropology
XA Law
Further subjects:B Legal pluralism
B Lawyers
B Equity pleading & procedure
B Complaints & complaining
B Legal self-representation
Description
Summary:Language used before late medieval English equity courts can reveal social and cultural norms. The protracted legal battle of maligned rights, injury, unsettled debts, and stolen goods at the heart of this article illustrates the legal pluralism and gender-neutral claims to helplessness common at the time and noted by other scholars. Read carefully, the rhetorical strategies employed by litigants and their lawyers can be used as a rough proxy to understand the social experience of the marketplace referenced in courtrooms. In the dispute between Alice Playstowe and Lawrence Mongomery, men relied upon reputation while women often drew upon gendered expectations to wage their law. Combined, the written record of their complaints and defenses suggests a business world in which men were expected to rely upon formal networks of associates, in which women were presumed to be active participants, and in which written agreements and mutual trust were respected by all.
ISSN:2326-0726
Contains:Enthalten in: The sixteenth century journal