BAD CONVERSATION - GENDER AND SOCIAL-CONTROL IN A KENTISH BOROUGH, C.1450 C.1570

The notion of a 'crisis of order' or a 'crisis in gender relations' in England between about 1560 and about 1640 has received considerable s upport, though some historians have pointed out that concern with mora l regulation can also be traced in court records of earlier periods. T o establish whether the level of social regulation in the decades arou nd 1600 was unique, it is clearly necessary to investigate prosecution s aimed at 'reformation of morals' in the century before c. 1560. This article examines the records of Fordwich (Kent) borough court between 1450 and 1570, in the light of that debate. Particular attention is g iven to the women land the few men) presented for scolding and related offences. The evidence suggests heightened concern about social behav iour - and especially the behaviour of women-in the years around 1500. Women who were verbally aggressive, particularly against those in aut hority, do appear to have been more severely treated than men who comm itted comparable offences, and few of these women fit the stereotype o f the 'scold' as poor, old or otherwise socially marginal.