ANDREAS SCHRYWER VS. BLASIUS DEYDRYCH: A CASE STUDY IN MARRIAGE LITIGATION IN PRE-REFORMATION TRANSYLVANIA (1521)
ANDREAS SCHRYWER VS. BLASIUS DEYDRYCH: A CASE STUDY IN MARRIAGE LITIGATION IN PRE-REFORMATION TRANSYLVANIA (1521)

Summary/Abstract: The present article analyses a 1521 marriage trial opposing two Saxon peasant families from the Transylvanian village of Scharosch. The aim of this case study is to illustrate the functioning of ecclesiastical courts and marriage litigation in pre-Reformation Transylvania. Andreas Schrywer, the village judge of Scharosch, presented to the chapter of Schenk a complaint against Blasius Deydrych, whom he accused of deflowering and impregnating his daughter, Rosa Schrywer. Drawing upon the testimonies recorded by the chapter, this article highlights the procedural course followed by the tribunal, the strategy of the petitioner, and the villagers’ views on the relationship between marriage, love and sexuality.

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