England Church Court Sentences - International Institute

Sentences for Laity and Clergy
Ecclesiastical judges could impose an increasingly harsh variety of sentences and/or fines on lay persons and clergy. Sentences included:


 * Monition (or admonition) This lightest form of sentence was just a reprimand, for example for erecting a gravestone without getting permission from the incumbent.


 * Stocks Since Saxon times until the 1830s each village and town had its wooden stocks in a prominent place on the village green or in the market place. Those found guilty of minor crimes such as blasphemy, drunkenness or Sabbath-breaking would spend a short, miserable time sitting with their legs bound in the stocks and suffering the insults and rotten eggs cast at them by the public.


 * Pillory A pillory was another such device where criminals stood with their head and arms held fast and subject to missiles thrown at them. This was abolished in 1837.


 * Whipping This punishment was imposed more often on women, particularly prostitutes. Most parishes had whipping posts but offenders were often tied to the back of a cart and whipped as they trudged through the streets.


 * Branding Vagrants who refused to work had been branded with a V since at least 1547. From 1650 bawds and those who kept bawdy houses were branded with B on their forehead, and an act of 1669 allowed prostitutes to be branded on the cheek.

Penance
This was an expression of repentance used especially for sexual offences, and may have been enacted in three ways:


 * Private penance before the parish incumbent and churchwardens; an example of a citation for defamation with a private penance is given below.

Chart: Citation for Private Penance


 * Public penance during divine service, or at the market place, or could be commuted to a charitable donation. Reports of these are seen in parish registers and elsewhere, with the penitent attending in a white sheet but barelegged and bareheaded and carrying a white rod. He or she publicly confessed his sins through the temptation of Satan and the frailty of mine owne fleshe and sought forgiveness from God, promising not to err again. Then he lead the congregation on the Lord’s Prayer. The vicar and churchwardens would then certify in writing to the bishop that the penance had been performed, and these certificates were filed in the diocesan records. An example follows:

Another variation seen in Sussex (Haines) required a woman to go around the village on her knees, wearing a white gown and carrying a lighted candle.


 * Solemn penance which could last for two years or more, but perhaps only during Lent. Here the offender was publicly turned out of church by the bishop at the beginning of Lent, then reconciled and absolved on Maundy Thursday, receiving the sacrament on Easter Sunday.

Excommunication

 * Suspension ab ingressu ecclesiae This was a temporary excommunication, forbidding partaking in divine service and the sacrament.


 * Excommunication This was the heaviest sentence used for clergymen, lay heretics, and those guilty of contumacy (failure to appear in court after three citations) or persistent failure to perform a penance. There were two levels:


 * Lesser excommunication which excluded the offender from divine service and the sacrament.
 * Greater excommunication which excluded him from the company of all Christians, and included a number of rituals including that which gave rise to the phrase bell, book and candle. The bishop pronounced the malediction (curse) and closed his book to symbolize removal from Christian life; then he (and perhaps 12 priests in attendance) threw their lighted candles to the floor to extinguish his soul from God; and the bell tolled as for a funeral.

Excommunication probably did not mean much to someone who did not believe in Anglican holy communion. However the social ostracism which accompanied it did, particularly as it affected holding a job or qualifying for respite in times of hardship. The middle and lower classes were dependant upon the upper classes in these respects and found it expedient to profess the same faith as their employer. In addition, excommunication prior to 1813 deprived the person of bringing actions to recover property, serving on a jury, and acting as a witness in court. Some nonconformists remained excommunicated for years.

Sentences for Clergy Only
In addition, clergy found guilty of offences were liable to:


 * Suspension A temporary suspension from his office or benefice thus he could not preach or receive an income.


 * Sequestrattion Impounding of his income and funds for a defined period of time.


 * Deprivation Permanent removal from his office or benefice.


 * Deposition Permanent removal from his office or benefice and from exercising his orders, thus he could never work again as a cleric.


 * Degradation The clergyman had his holy orders removed and thus was degraded to the laity, from whence he was not protected from punishment in a temporal court, i.e. benefit of clergy would not exempt him from, for example, the death penalty.

After their court appearance, pleading a legitimate excuse, or payment of fees for contumacy absolution could be granted to suspended or excommunicated persons.

Fines and corporal punishments were abolished in 1641 and public penance (particularly in white clothing) died out by the beginning of the 18th century in most areas. Church courts could not order imprisonment after 1641 but could refer the case to higher-level civil courts.

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Information in this Wiki page is excerpted from the online course English: Court Records-Criminal, Civil and Ecclesiastical offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. To learn more about this course or other courses available from the Institute, see our website. We can be contacted at [mailto:wiki@genealogicalstudies.com wiki@genealogicalstudies.com]

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