Family Law:A Case for Children
A journey through history, the law and society in England with respect to children and asking the question whether we, as society have acted as reasonably responsible adults to our children. Is there a case to answer?
Wardship: The Law That Owned The Children
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Wardship began as a feudal duty to protect an heir, and it became a business. With the robe on, we walk through the Court of Wards and Liveries rule by rule: the inquest, the sale of a child’s guardianship, the “value of the marriage,” and the cost of getting your own inheritance back. We test it against the life of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, and look at how society helped the law along.
The law never asked what a child needed. It asked what the ch...
Court of Wards and Liveries continued
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For roughly a century, the English Crown could sell a child's marriage to the highest bidder. This wasn't a scandal. It was the system, run by the Court of Wards and Liveries.
This episode asks two questions. First: how many children were actually married under wardship?
Second, a more personal one: after immersing myself in this subject for so long, have I inflated the Court's importance? Most people in Tudor England were never touched by it. Wardship fell on the landed classes, and the surviving records come largely from...
Court of Wards and Liveries
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It is easy to start a topic without full comprehension of the reasons necessary for the discussion. So today I pause to give the reasons why The Court of Wards and Liveries warrants mentioning and the subsequent discussion.
The Court of Wards and Liveries and The Monarchs
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This is a brief look at the monarchs who reigned during the exercise of the royal prerogative rights, which lead to the eventual development of the Court.
The Tudors Continued
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This is an introduction to the next few episodes we will be looking into. As we are called to do, I would like you to think on the children.
The Elizabethan's and Lord Burghley
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The Elizabethan's epitomises the classic phrase "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer". The situation was dire, like Lady Justice they were blind.
Poverty and the Poor Laws Concluded
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The Poor Law of 1601 consolidated the previous statutes in a bid to create uniformity and to prevent riots, overall it was successful for those who needed it to be. But were the Poor Laws necessary given that, the Tudors, especially the Elizabethans were a wealthy bunch? The question of who is my neighbour failed to crossed their minds.
Poverty and the Poor Laws
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A brief look a the reasons for the large scale poverty in the Tudor era and the laws the enacted to try to tackle the crisis.
Infanticide, Illegitimate Children, Physical and Sexual Abuse
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Today we look at illegitimacy, infanticide, physical and sexual abuse in the Tudor era and what steps were taken if any to protect the vulnerable children.
Tudors and The Poor
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Today we continue our journey with the Tudors, the poor and vulnerable in society.
Tudors, Wardship and Agnes
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We will have a look today at Agnes and take a glimpse into a system that failed to protect the most vulnerable.
Henry VII- Wardship's End
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As we move towards the machine that was the Court of Wards and Liveries, we conclude our journey with Henry VII and we open our doors to his son Henry VIII.
Henry VII's Wardship
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Wardship under Henry VII became a mechanism for wealth and power and the losers were the children who were unfortunate enough to have acquired property as minors. What a sad state it was for the vulnerable child.......
The King's Men
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Henry VII on his quest for authority and financial independence did not mind being surrounded by sycophants. These king's men were ruthless in their application of the law, they became legal bands of robbers.
The Law, Wardship and Henry VII
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We continue our journey with the ward in Henry VII's court. Will Henry and his retinue surprise us, have they enacted laws to protect the wards or to ensure compliance with his prerogative.
Wardship and Henry VII continued
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Henry VII wanted financial independence and in an agrarian society this was possible through land ownership or possession. The easiest way to accomplish this was through the exercise of his prerogative powers.
Henry VII and The Court of Wards and Liveries
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We begin our journey with the Court of Wards and Liveries with its architect Henry VII.
Feudalism and the Court of Wards
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This is a brief look at the link between the King's feudal rights and the inception of the Court of Wards.
The Tudors
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Today we begin our journey with the children in the Tudor era. This is a brief introduction into the state of affairs at the time, bringing an awareness to the societal challenges that affected not only the children but society as a whole. From all indication this will be a challenging period for the children.
Conclusion to the Court of Orphans
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This episode serves as a conclusion of the Court of Orphans and the Norman Era. As we maintain our gaze on the court of orphans, we look at the effect their decisions had on the lives of the minors involved. Bearing in mind the state of the affairs we consider whether or not the vulnerability of the minors involved played any part in the decision making process and the reasonableness of decisions in relation to the children.
Court of Orphans Continued
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The Court of Orphans is an interesting topic. On one hand we see the law protecting the rights of children but on closer inspection the impact was only on a small scale as the laws applied only to children of Freemen. I am sure I can hear the voice of the children crying out "What about me, this is not fair!"
Court of Orphans
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This is an introduction to the Court of Orphans before we delve fully into what impact it had on the lives and welfare of children
Conclusion to Unnatural Deaths in Children
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Today’s episode is a summing up of the topic Unnatural Deaths in Children. This is not the end of the topic but rather a summarisation of the reasons why one could conclude that there was no justice for children in the Norman Era. The conclusion here I propose is that although the scales of Lady Justice were skewed, somehow, amidst the tumultuous time of the medieval ages there was still the notion that justice needed to be done. Although when administered that justice would be deemed by today’s onlookers as flawed.
Norman Era -Unnatural Deaths in Children-Filicide
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Here in part 3 of this topic we continue to look at filicide. It is an interesting glimpse into how the law both secular and ecclesiastical dealt with the deaths of children
Norman Era- Unnatural Deaths in Children -Filicide
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We continue our journey into unnatural deaths of children in the Norman era. We will delve into the act of filicide and its legal repercussions, and the impact if any on the welfare of the children
Hiatus
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Family Law A Case for Children will be taking a break to undertake research so as to provide richer and more extensive content for the upcoming episodes. Do join me in 8 weeks time as we continue our journey it will be a fascinating ride.
Norman Era- Unnatural Deaths of infants and children
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This is the first of 2 parts as we look at the unnatural deaths of infants and children in the Norman era. Taking a look at the law and how they dealt with these deaths.
Introducing the Normans
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This is a brief introduction to the Normans, before we delve into their laws and the impact if any they had on the welfare of children.
Age of Majority continued
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This is a continuation of our discussion about the age of majority and the support provided to children of the Anglo Saxon Era. Also a brief analysis of the possible implications on the life and welfare of a child.
Anglo Saxon Children-Age of Majority
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This is a brief look at the age of majority in Anglo Saxon England
Anglo Saxon Children -Age of Majority
This is a brief look at the age of majority of children in Anglo Saxon England.
Child Oblation in England
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This is a brief look at child oblation and monasteries in Anglo Saxon England and a comparison with its continental counterparts.
Oblation/The Church -Clarification
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As this is not a polemical work on the Medieval Church, this episode seeks to clarify the aim of Family Law : A case for Children.
Fostering - Child Oblatioin
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This is a quick look at Gottschalk, who was a child oblate, and his fight for freedom from monastic life.
Child Care Fostering
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We will take a look at foster care in Anglo Saxon England paying close attention to whether or not any provisions were made for the vulnerable children
Christianity- In comes the Romans
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This is a brief overview of the effect the Romans and Christianity by extension Catholacism had on English society in and around 5th century.
Introducing Family Law: A Case for Children
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This introduction gives a brief outline of what to expect in the coming episodes.
It is a historical, legal and cultural journey in the lives of children through the centuries.
The influences and our conduct will surprise as well as perplex the listener on our journey
in England from 410AD to the present age. Come along with me it will an interesting ride.
