Legal Identity and 13th-Century English Ireland

The study of legal status in 13th-century English Ireland has suffered from a lack of law-in-action methodology, so many 19th-century assumptions have endured without critique. This article sorts out defensive pleas and petitions from court judgments, and applies decolonial and intersectional-femin...

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Main Author: Stephen Hewer
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory 2021-11-01
Series:Rechtsgeschichte - Legal History
Subjects:
Online Access:https://proceedings.hpsg.xyz/index.php/rg/article/view/89
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author Stephen Hewer
author_facet Stephen Hewer
author_sort Stephen Hewer
collection DOAJ
description The study of legal status in 13th-century English Ireland has suffered from a lack of law-in-action methodology, so many 19th-century assumptions have endured without critique. This article sorts out defensive pleas and petitions from court judgments, and applies decolonial and intersectional-feminist methodologies to the terminology regarding the medieval courts and peoples. It defines legal freedom under medieval English law in Ireland and delineates the methods used by the courts to determine legal freedom. A critical, forensic study of the surviving court rolls has revealed that there were several legal identities (generes) allowed to use the English royal courts in Ireland (legally »free«) and intersections with and within these categories. The court rolls also demonstrate that legal identity had different consequences in criminal proceedings than in civil, and that categories such as »the English« or »the Gaels« in medieval Ireland are too broad; the interaction of factors such as identity, freedom or unfreedom, gender, and social status have to be taken into account.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 1619-4993
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language deu
publishDate 2021-11-01
publisher Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory
record_format Article
series Rechtsgeschichte - Legal History
spelling doaj-art-48d528c12ced4255bf399491971b34da2025-02-11T06:08:46ZdeuMax Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal TheoryRechtsgeschichte - Legal History1619-49932195-96172021-11-0129Legal Identity and 13th-Century English IrelandStephen Hewer0FWO Onderzoeker, Universiteit Gent The study of legal status in 13th-century English Ireland has suffered from a lack of law-in-action methodology, so many 19th-century assumptions have endured without critique. This article sorts out defensive pleas and petitions from court judgments, and applies decolonial and intersectional-feminist methodologies to the terminology regarding the medieval courts and peoples. It defines legal freedom under medieval English law in Ireland and delineates the methods used by the courts to determine legal freedom. A critical, forensic study of the surviving court rolls has revealed that there were several legal identities (generes) allowed to use the English royal courts in Ireland (legally »free«) and intersections with and within these categories. The court rolls also demonstrate that legal identity had different consequences in criminal proceedings than in civil, and that categories such as »the English« or »the Gaels« in medieval Ireland are too broad; the interaction of factors such as identity, freedom or unfreedom, gender, and social status have to be taken into account. https://proceedings.hpsg.xyz/index.php/rg/article/view/89statusidentitycolonialismIreland
spellingShingle Stephen Hewer
Legal Identity and 13th-Century English Ireland
Rechtsgeschichte - Legal History
status
identity
colonialism
Ireland
title Legal Identity and 13th-Century English Ireland
title_full Legal Identity and 13th-Century English Ireland
title_fullStr Legal Identity and 13th-Century English Ireland
title_full_unstemmed Legal Identity and 13th-Century English Ireland
title_short Legal Identity and 13th-Century English Ireland
title_sort legal identity and 13th century english ireland
topic status
identity
colonialism
Ireland
url https://proceedings.hpsg.xyz/index.php/rg/article/view/89
work_keys_str_mv AT stephenhewer legalidentityand13thcenturyenglishireland