Rape suits disguised - what were the husbands' true wish ?

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K01225
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 05010:Legal theory and history-related
• Research Institution: Komazawa University
• Principal Investigator: Kitano Kaoru 駒澤大学, 付置研究所, 研究員 (90153105)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 15世紀初期イギリス / rape / 民事侵害 (civil trespass) / 婚姻適性喪失 / 事実上の婚姻解消

Outline of Final Research Achievements

There are so many "rape as civil trespass" cases on the plea rolls of the King's Bench plea side, with the same pattern of the wordings and steps. Considering those, I conclude that the aims of those pleas were not the compensation for the violence against the plaintiff's wife, but to publicise the unfitness to continue marriage, even to close or deny their marital status.

I found few cases in which the defendant argued that at that time she was the plaintiff's wife, but after the reconciliation between them, she is now the wife of the defendant. But I could not certify those "marriages" were formal according to Church Law.

Free Research Field

中世イギリス法制史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

少なくとも中世後期のイギリス社会の「婚姻」および「婚姻関係解消」をめぐる社会的通念が、従来受容されてきたカトリック教会のテーゼに必ずしも合致するものではなかった可能性と、世俗法による簡明な「婚姻関係解消手続」が成立しえなかった社会的背景のもとで、世俗法の通常の審理手続を緩和する「婚姻関係解消」の方策が、事実として成立していた可能性を示唆した。今後の社会史研究に対するひとつの視点を提供できたと考える。
強固に定着している「婚姻関係解消不能」とりわけ「離別」による再婚の手続的困難性を反証するには個別事例の状況解明が必要でしかも困難だが、少なくとも累計調査結果を、今後なんらかの形で公表したい。