A House in Gross Disorder Sex, Law, and the 2nd Earl of Castlehaven

by Herrup, Cynthia B.

• ISBN13: 9780195139259
• ISBN10: 0195139259
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-03-22
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Sex, privilege, corruption, and revenge--these are elements that we expect to find splashed across today's tabloid headlines. But 17th century England saw a sex scandal that brought disgrace to the ruling class and ended with the beheading of an earl. In A House in Gross Disorder , Cynthia Herrup presents a strikingly new interpretation of the case of the 2nd Earl of Castlehaven and of the sexual and social anxieties it cast into such bold relief. Castlehaven was convicted of assisting in the rape of his own wife and of committing sodomy with his servants. But more than that, he stood accused of inverting the natural order of his household by reveling in rather than restraining the intemperate passions of those he was expected to rule and protect. Herrup argues that because an orderly house was considered both an example and endorsement of aristocratic governance, the riotousness presided over by Castlehaven was the most damning evidence against him. Avoiding simple conclusions about guilt or innocence, Herrup focuses instead on the fascinating legal, social and political dynamics of the case and its subsequent retellings. In riveting prose, she reconsiders a scandal that still speaks to contemporary anxieties about sex, good governance, and the role of law in regulating both.

Author Biography

Cynthia Herrup is Professor of History and Law, Duke University. She is the former editor of the Journal of British Studies and the author of The Common Peace: Participation and the Criminal Law in 17th Century England. She lives in Durham, North Carolina.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Abbreviations and Conventions	ix
Genealogies of the Touchet and Stanley Families	x
Preface	xiii
Introduction Castlehaven Redux	1	(8)
A Household Kept unto Itself	9	(16)
A Debauched Son of a Noble Family	25	(38)
A Verdict, but No Resolution	63	(36)
A Household Broke Beyond Repair	99	(16)
Retellings	115	(29)
Conclusions	144	(11)
Appendix A The Jurors	155	(5)
Appendix B Verses	160	(5)
Appendix C Genealogy of Manuscripts and Pamphlets	165	(5)
Notes	170	(25)
Bibliography of Sources Cited	195	(17)
Index	212