Comments on: Two Princes (and Two Rebels) http://www.investigations.4-lom.com/2010/01/02/two-princes-and-two-rebels/ Failing better at understanding the past Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:50:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Gavin Robinson http://www.investigations.4-lom.com/2010/01/02/two-princes-and-two-rebels/comment-page-1/#comment-14426 Gavin Robinson Mon, 04 Jan 2010 09:15:14 +0000 http://www.investigations.4-lom.com/?p=709#comment-14426 Thanks for that link - it's fascinating and has given me a lot to think about. It seems to be assumed that a rapist's horse will necessarily have a scrotum. This is vague speculation, but I'm wondering if that suggests a belief in some kind of humoural sympathy between horse and rider, or even a causal relationship: the heat of the stallion caused the man's humours to overheat and made him commit rape. Bracton seems to be quite different from early-modern English attitudes to rape. There seems to be less emphasis on rape as a property crime against men than there was later, but maybe more emphasis on the sacredness of virginity. It's also interesting that he explicitly says that if a woman was a whore before it's still rape if she doesn't consent. Another nail in the coffin of the Whig idea of progress. Thanks for that link – it’s fascinating and has given me a lot to think about. It seems to be assumed that a rapist’s horse will necessarily have a scrotum. This is vague speculation, but I’m wondering if that suggests a belief in some kind of humoural sympathy between horse and rider, or even a causal relationship: the heat of the stallion caused the man’s humours to overheat and made him commit rape.

Bracton seems to be quite different from early-modern English attitudes to rape. There seems to be less emphasis on rape as a property crime against men than there was later, but maybe more emphasis on the sacredness of virginity. It’s also interesting that he explicitly says that if a woman was a whore before it’s still rape if she doesn’t consent. Another nail in the coffin of the Whig idea of progress.

]]> By: Henchminion http://www.investigations.4-lom.com/2010/01/02/two-princes-and-two-rebels/comment-page-1/#comment-14425 Henchminion Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:14:40 +0000 http://www.investigations.4-lom.com/?p=709#comment-14425 Slightly OT, I just ran across a reference that may interest you. The thirteenth-century English legal treatise known as Bracton has a passage about the sexual shaming of a rapist's horse. You can find it on the <a href="http://hlsl5.law.harvard.edu/bracton/index.htm" rel="nofollow">electronic Bracton</a> in vol. 2, p. 418. Slightly OT, I just ran across a reference that may interest you. The thirteenth-century English legal treatise known as Bracton has a passage about the sexual shaming of a rapist’s horse. You can find it on the electronic Bracton in vol. 2, p. 418.

]]> By: Linkblogging for 02/01/10 (OK, so I was completely wrong about the whole palindrome thing…) « Sci-Ence! Justice Leak! http://www.investigations.4-lom.com/2010/01/02/two-princes-and-two-rebels/comment-page-1/#comment-14424 Linkblogging for 02/01/10 (OK, so I was completely wrong about the whole palindrome thing…) « Sci-Ence! Justice Leak! Sat, 02 Jan 2010 18:25:48 +0000 http://www.investigations.4-lom.com/?p=709#comment-14424 [...] Gavin R may have found the source of a mistake in a Ladybird book he reviewed a while [...] [...] Gavin R may have found the source of a mistake in a Ladybird book he reviewed a while [...]

]]>