Ireland, Emily 
ORCID: 0000-0002-8070-5224
(2022)
Re-examining the Presumption: Coverture and 'Legal Impossibilities' in Early Modern English Criminal Law.
JOURNAL OF LEGAL HISTORY, 43 (2).
pp. 187-209.
Abstract
The doctrine of coverture restricted married women’s legal agency during the early modern period and into the nineteenth century. While the impact and ethos of judicial decisions at private law regarding the doctrine has received sustained attention from historians, the impact upon criminal law has received less analysis. This article examines a series of cases, pertaining to offences ranging from recusancy in the sixteenth century to receiving stolen goods in the nineteenth century, to demonstrate the longstanding nature of arguments of ‘legal impossibility’ due to coverture in married women’s criminal trials. While lawmakers sought to uphold patriarchy by ensuring coverture as well as justice was served, the way these two goals were met differed over time and across offences. Yet, the underlying ideology of patriarchy remained steadfast. Overall, a holistic approach is needed to understand the impact coverture had upon the legal agency of femes covert.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Coverture, marriage law, criminal law, crime, gender, patriarchy, women |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Law and Social Justice |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Jul 2022 10:48 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Jan 2023 20:56 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/01440365.2022.2092945 |
| Open Access URL: | https://doi.org/10.1080/01440365.2022.2092945 |
| Related URLs: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3158380 |
Dimensions
Dimensions
