IMC 2012: Sessions

Session 1321: Law, Violence, and Social Bonds, IV: Breaking Rules

Sponsor:	St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies, University of St Andrews
Organiser:	Kate Hammond, St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies, University of St Andrews
Moderator/Chair:	Theo Riches, Exzellenzcluster 'Religion & Politik', Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
Paper 1321-a	When the Rule is Breaking the Rule: Criminal Trial Contumacy in Late 13th-Century Pavia (Language: English) Tomaso Perani, Università degli Studi di Milano Index terms: Archives and Sources, Law, Local History, Mentalities
Paper 1321-b	Making and Breaking Rules in Angevin Royal Marriage Policy (Language: English) Beth Thomas, St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies, University of St Andrews Index terms: Gender Studies, Law, Social History
Paper 1321-c	It's More of a Guideline Really: Breaking Rules and Boundaries in Mantua, c. 1000-1150 (Language: English) Robert Houghton, St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies, University of St Andrews Index terms: Canon Law, Charters and Diplomatics, Law, Mentalities
Abstract	Rules were not always a concrete concept in the medieval period. Written laws were sometimes little more than guidelines and could be disobeyed in the correct circumstances. The even the most well established unwritten rules regarding rituals could be broken to dramatic effect. These papers will examine how and why rules were broken in various circumstances and by various groups and individuals across medieval Europe. They will also look at the consequences of breaking the rules.