Words and deeds: gender and the language of abuse in Elizabethan Norfolk

Spaeth, D. (2014) Words and deeds: gender and the language of abuse in Elizabethan Norfolk. History Workshop Journal, 78(1), pp. 1-21. (doi: 10.1093/hwj/dbt039)

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Abstract

Research into the regulation of speech in early modern England has tended to focus on common scolds and thus on the control of disorderly women. Yet scolds accounted for only a minority of those prosecuted for speech offences in Elizabethan England. If the definition of abusive speech is broadened, then men were as likely to be charged as women. The 1551 Act against Fighting and Quarrelling in Church expanded significantly the ecclesiastical courts’ jurisdiction, contributing to a climate of control over speech. In the archdeaconry of Norwich, almost a thousand people were charged in the 1580s either under the Act or for other forms of ‘heated’ speech. As the Church sought to implement the Reformation, it was most concerned about challenges to the liturgy, clergy and officers. Changes in the language of prosecution show how court priorities were altered. A shift from formulaic Latin to English reflected the disruption of gendered assumptions, as the courts placed new emphasis upon speech actions rather than reputation. To criticize authority was to do more than to speak words; it was to commit an offence. The gendered terms of scolding and brawling were combined in a charge which could be brought against either men or women. Gendered contrasts between male and female speech were maintained, but were pushed aside by concerns about the threat which disorderly speech presented to religious and political authority.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Spaeth, Dr Donald
Authors: Spaeth, D.
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
Journal Name:History Workshop Journal
Publisher:Oxford University Press
ISSN:1363-3554
ISSN (Online):1477-4569

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