Sex crime appeals at the Parlement of Paris, 1564-1655

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dc.contributor.authorSemmens, Justine
dc.contributor.supervisorBeam, Sara
dc.date.accessioned2021-08-21T00:15:27Z
dc.date.copyright2021en_US
dc.date.issued2021-08-20
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of History
dc.degree.levelDoctor of Philosophy Ph.D.en_US
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation examines the intersection of the prosecution of criminal justice, sexual morality and the family at the parlement of Paris, which was the highest court of appeal in France, during the height of its power and influence in the kingdom from 1564-1655. This dissertation argues that in its adjudication of the crimes of seduction, infanticide, adultery, and bigamy the parlement of Paris interpreted the law according to a paternal theory of state by prioritizing family integrity and patriarchal honour in its decisions. In so doing, it presents a unique synthesis of statute and published legal opinion with a systematic survey of judicial decisions, based on archival findings, relating to these sex crimes in early modern France. It concludes that these judicial decisions were ensconced in the concepts of family, the king’s justice, and sovereignty, which were foundational to the interconnected theories of state and society in early modern France. The parlement tended to separate elite and modest appellants according to the socio-economic priorities of lignage and ménage, or the protection of the integrity of elite lineages and the stability of artisanal households within broader networks of family and community. Ultimately, this study exposes the expectations and values that gendered authority placed on men and women in early modern French society, reveals the ways that the most powerful judges in France interpreted the law according to these values, and unveils the narratives that women and men crafted when they confronted these expectations before these powerful judges. In so doing, this dissertation sheds new light on the relationships between gender and the law, gender relations in state and society, and the lived experience of marriage in early modern France.en_US
dc.description.scholarlevelGraduateen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/13301
dc.languageEnglisheng
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.subjectParlement of Parisen_US
dc.subjectEarly modern Franceen_US
dc.subjectLegal historyen_US
dc.subjectSocial historyen_US
dc.subjectFamily historyen_US
dc.subjectsex crimeen_US
dc.subjectHistory of crimeen_US
dc.subjectGender historyen_US
dc.subjectCanon lawen_US
dc.subjectRoman lawen_US
dc.subjectInfanticideen_US
dc.subjectRapten_US
dc.subjectSeductionen_US
dc.subjectAdulteryen_US
dc.subjectBigamyen_US
dc.titleSex crime appeals at the Parlement of Paris, 1564-1655en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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