ABSTRACT
The churchwardens were required under Canon 109 to report all persons who offended their brethren by committing adultery, whoredom, and incest or any other uncleanness or wickedness of life. The manner in which the Church interpreted this canon and those related to marriage, and the specific manifestations of illicit sexual behaviour it confronted, were revealed in the visitation articles. Although until the 1650s the magistrates were not theoretically concerned with illicit sexual behaviour, excepting the felonies of ‘buggery with man or beast’ and rape, in practice their involvement was considerable. The English Church acted upon a base of a civil law tradition, modified by the Reformation and only partly revealed in its canons, revised in 1604. These canons made clear the nature of unacceptable sexual behaviour and set forth the guidelines for a valid regular marriage. Suspicions based on the company kept or the circumstances prevailing led to the third avenue of discovery – being caught in the act.
