Conclusion

Beginning by means of a case study linked to earlier discussion, on the life and career of Sir Rowland Stanley of Hooton and his illegitimate relationships and offspring, this chapter draws together the main themes of the book. It describes the important continuing culture around the keeping of mistresses and bastard-bearing in the north, shaped as it was (among other things) by the religious change of the period, efforts to reform manners, the instruments of government that were developed in large part to address elite immorality, and the growing influence of the Court.

The ‘wronged’ partner

This chapter assesses the situation of the wives and husbands of those involved in illicit relationships. Contemporary culture identified the cuckold as a figure of public ridicule; he was judged by an act in which he did not participate, and the legitimacy and inheritance of his children might be brought into question. For elite wives, philandering husbands brought into question their roles as authority figures. If the husband’s affair was with another member of the nobility or gentry, it might very directly undercut the wife’s position in courtly and regional society, as on the occasion that George Clifford, earl of Cumberland’s mistress acted as hostess to King James in 1603 when Clifford’s wife Margaret was herself present. The chapter considers the gendered concepts implicit within contemporary attitudes towards ‘the wronged spouse’, the cuckold derided by wider society and viewed as unable to exert control over his wife; or the ‘virtuous’, pious, long-suffering wife developed particularly in the works of Samuel Daniel. It sets this alongside the evidence for the accommodation of their situations by many, seen e.g. in the role of noble and gentry wives in property transactions and testamentary dispositions which involved bastard children and even mistresses.

The extent of bastardy among the elite

This chapter explores the extent of bastardy among the nobility and gentry, using a variety of sources, especially wills, property transactions and court records. It compares numbers of births and rates of bastardy among the elite with overall and non-elite bastardy rates, suggesting that although there are some correlations with levels of bastard-bearing among the poor, the peaks of activity in the mid-sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries do not correlate clearly. There are also clear regional and sub-regional variations to be observed, in particular of north versus south, and within the north in the north west and far north east, although any attempt to see the developments of the period as producing a clear distinction between a bastard-prone north and west, and a non-bastard-prone south and east is not supported by the evidence.

Background and legal framework

This chapter considers definitions of illicit behaviour and bastardy during this period, and the ways in which they shape the sources available to us. It will commence with the theoretical legal position expounded by both ecclesiastical and secular jurisdictions. It describes the debates around annulment, separation and divorce. It considers the formal mechanisms through which behaviour was categorised and responded to, especially in the church courts, the ways these were extended in the sixteenth century, and the patterns of enforcement during the period, especially in the intense period of activity of the northern High Commission in the 1570s.

The bastard children

This chapter argues for the rich and varied approaches taken by the aristocracy and gentry in providing for illegitimate children. Insights into the immediate circumstances of the birth are provided in the naming of the bastard child, both in forenames and family names attributed and adopted – suggesting the relative importance of the mistress’s family, anyone involved in fostering the child, and the elite family involved. Considering the later life of the bastard child, the chapter examines evidence for gendered and status differences e.g. in finding marriage partners or in financial provision. One important question is the degree to which these children were able to maintain gentle status. Many were evidently able to sustain the standing of gentlemen and gentlewomen; many males, in particular, proved to be vital supports to their kin, playing a full role in society and politics within and without family networks. Further, bastard offspring of the elite were able to accumulate considerable wealth and power – as in the case of Thomas Egerton, the illegitimate son of Sir Richard Egerton of Ridley who rose to become lord chancellor. The period saw an increasing scope for the careers of illegitimate offspring of the elite, in the law, the church, military service, and other areas.

Gentlewomen and their lovers

Even if for the gentry and nobility the double-standard was less restrictive of male conduct than, for example, Capp has argued, there is no question that contemporary expectations constrained the behaviour of females among the elite more severely than men. Still, this chapter explores the evidence for the extent and implications of illegitimate relationships conducted by elite females, and shows that they were far from uncommon and did not in every case lead to the most severe sanctions. It considers how the participants in such illegitimate relationships were described, and the gendered concepts implicit within those descriptions. As with that relating to the male gentry, the evidence here suggests that gentlewomen tended to become involved with men who, while some may have been servants, were themselves of relatively high status. Some of the more prominent women in this situation are considered, such as Elizabeth Parr, marchioness of Northampton, or Lady Florence Clifford, husband of Henry, 10th Lord Clifford, as are lesser known gentlewomen. The chapter considers how attitudes to these relationships, whether condemnatory, regulatory or less critical, changed over time.

The role and status of the mistress

The historiography might suggest that female servants were the typical mistresses of the elite. Such relationships are explored in this section, but it is also evident that many of the mistresses of the elite were either non-elite women who had come into contact with their eventual lovers through other routes than service, or themselves came from the elite. These might be the daughters and wives of gentry families, and not always from families of lower status (although this was a notable pattern among the mistresses of the peerage); an important group was drawn from the illegitimate offspring of the elite themselves, suggesting in some cases a parallel kinship and relationship structure. While some of these mistresses were undoubtedly badly treated (and may be little more than shadowy victims in our records), many were able to access considerable material wealth and influence through their relationships. The chapter will explore how this was accumulated, the forms that it took, and the power that these mistresses were able to wield. Further, the implications of these relationships for interactions between individuals and families in county, regional and national society and politics will be considered: sometimes disruptive, sometimes forging new connections and alliances.

Introduction

The introduction reviews the historiography of the topic, considering the ways in which historians have touched on the illegitimate relationships and offspring of the elite in a variety of contexts, and considers the significance of its re-examination in the light of these debates. They include questions of demography and economic change, efforts to regulate behaviour in what is known as the ‘reformation of manners’, state-building, religious change, sexuality and gender, the history of the family, and the nature of noble and gentry society.