THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ENGLISH AND FRANCO-BELGIAN MEDIEVAL MARRIAGE CASES

The time has come to see how far we can generalize the conclusions that we came to on the basis of our study of five courts and to take a glimpse at others' work with the rest of Western Europe. This section suggests, with some hesitancy, that the patterns we have seen in the five courts can be generalized to England and to what we have called the ‘Franco-Belgian’ region.

Tanneur et Doulsot and Dolling c Smith Generalized

More than 220 years after Dolling c Smith, Colin Tanneur and Perette Doulsot of Villers in Champagne were cited to appear before the court of the official of the bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne to answer charges by the promotor that they had clandestinely exchanged promises to marry. While the judge was interrogating Perette under oath about this charge, she confessed that a month before, Colin had come to her father's house at night and had talked with her about a marriage contract. After much talk, Colin had sworn by the faith of his body that he would take her to wife and that he would never have anyone else as wife except her, and she promised the same. After this they exchanged tokens of their affection. Since Perette admitted that no one had been present when all this had happened, it was open to Colin to deny the charges, and the case would have failed for want of proof.