Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Discussion Leaders' documents; chapter 5
Student discussion leaders are asked to select documents from Key and Bucholz, Sources and Debates, ch. 5 (society ca. 1600):, listing 3 documents from chapter 5, 1st ed. (one from the new chapter from the 2nd edition) with 1-2 sentences on each explaining what the class should get out of those documents. Then, during the next class I announce to the rest of class which documents they should read based on those documents selected.
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5.10 Poor Relief Act. this document will show the social welfare programs enacted through the parishes by the government.
16th century social welfare is something rarely talked about and understood.
5.7 Reginald Scot, The Discoverie of Witchcraft. This is an important document because it gives evidence defending poor, old, and disinfranchized women against accusations of whichcraft, which was a common practice in the 16th century
5.3 Examination of Anne Carter and Others Regarding the Maldon Riot. This is interesting because it's a riot involving women, who have a tricky legal position in the comon Law. Also, one has to examine why women would involve themselves in grain riots instead of men.
5.2 Wiltshire Quarter Sessions, Deposition of Thomas Mills, Cutler, and his Wife Agnes (Trinity [Spring] Term, 1618) because this is a charivari or rough music (shivaree in the USA South) which is a form of popular punishment usually for sexual infractions. It could get out of hand and violent.
5.7 Reginald Scot, The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584) because this is my favorite discussion of witchcraft from someone who, early on, did not believe in witches, but he does a great impersonation of one who believes in the them in the introductory epistle (read it yourself in your best Monty Python old woman voice), and he knows exactly how such beliefs start and spread even to the supposed witches themselves!
and, from handout of 2nd ed., 5.11 “The Confession and repentance of Margaret
Ferneseede after her condemnation” (1608) because Margaret is deliciously unrepentant about heading a brothel. It also shows how easily the poor woman can be led in the growing metropolis.
Newton K
5.7 Reginald Scott, The Discoverie of Witchcraft. I like this document because I believe that it shows how ridiculous an accusation witchcraft was.
5.13 The Examinations of Philippa Flower. This is an important reading in that it shows the prejudice towards the poor and how they related economic status to evil.
5.9 Robert Crowley, The Way to Wealth. This is important because it is an example of someone putting the blame for the country's problems on the upper class instead of the usual practice of heaping the blame on the peasants.
5.5 Justice Harvey's opinion on a Star Chamber case. The case shows the extreme justice sometimes handed down by the Star Chamber. This document sets up the severity of the witch trials.
5.7 Reginald Scot, The Disoverie of Witchcraft. Many charges brought against the women were exagerated or just made up. This document defends those flasly accused.
5.13 The Examination of Philippa. This Document shows the sexist nature of the witch hunts. Manny women who were strong willed were accused of being witchs and this document reflects that in a speciic case.
5.9 Edward Hext, Somerset JP, to Lord Burghley on the Increase of Rogues and Vagabonds.
Edward Hext talks about how the poor and thiefs are stealing and spending large amounts of time in alehouses. With animals being stolen from the countryside farmers were having enough trouble as it is tilling their own land.
5.10 Poor Relief Act
Parliament enacted laws that within every church parish would appoint a few people each year that would help take in the poor. Laws such as these were rare at the time and helped take care of those who could not take care of themselves.
5.5 Justice Harvey's opinion on a Star Chamber case
An example of how the Star Chamber handing out a sentence to man they were trying to make an example out of. It is a good example of how the courts were trying to combat people taking advantage of each other.
5.3 Examination of Anne Carter and others regarding the Maldon Riot. This document is important because it illustrates how poverty stricken women, instead of men, were willing to riot and take food off of vessels for the need of the market and individual necessity.
5.9 Robert Crowley, The Way of Wealth. This document shows how instead of blaming the poor peasant knaves with their present day problems, that it is in fact the landlords who are held accountable.
5.3 handout, Wiltshire Quarter Sessions, Deposition of Thomas Mills, cutler, and his wife Agnes. This document is interesting becuase it shows how members of a community would react to outrages such as a husband beating his wife, adultery, witch craft and various other disorderly acts.
5.13 The Examination of Philippa Flower shows that some of the women who were tried for witchcraft did see themselves as witches, often believing that they were posessed by the devil or a spirit they would use "devilish speech and strange gestures" in order to bring pain and hardships to the people they were against.
5.7 Reginald Scot, The Discoverie of Witchrcft was an interesting article becuase it talks about how to tell apart different sorts of witches: some are old, not religious, and full of wrinkles. This just shows how ridiculous most of the withcraft accusations were, and how most of them were not based on real fact.
5.2 Wiltshire Quarter Sessions, Deposition of Thomas Mills, Cutler, and his Wife Agnes. This document shows the coming into town of hundreds of men, and their effect on the women (particularly Agnes)and men of the town.
5.2 Wiltshire Quarter Sessions, Deposition of Thomas Mills...
This document illustrates the "neighborly justice" that was often meted out upon community members for relatively minor of offenses with pageantry and pummeling. A very peculiar testimony indeed.
5.4 Sir R. Wilbraham on Enclosure Riots in East Midlands
This article represents the precarious situation of maintaining order while appeasing the public. Illustrates the discontent of the economic situation for commoners that did not hold lands. Use of capital punishment, while giving ear to some of the rioters' grievances.
5.10 (handout) "The Godly life of Mistress Stubbes"
This narration of the short life of this woman seems to idealize Puritanical life. Mr. Stubbes contrasts the disorder of many commoners of the age.
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