ABSTRACT
In the early modern era, one has a plethora of primary sources, not least church records, to draw evidence of attitudes towards illicit sexual behavior. The primary source presented here, “A Sermon Against Whoredom and Uncleanness,” written by Thomas Becon, was the eleventh sermon in a set of twelve, first authorized in 1547 in the reign of King Edward VI and reissued under Queen Elizabeth I’s direction in 1559. As the Edwardian and Elizabethan courts commissioned, authorized, and promulgated a sermon on the topic of adultery and ordered it to be read several times over the course of a year to all congregations, the “Sermon Against Whoredom and Uncleanness” encompassed what one might call the government’s official position on adultery. As the guardians of morality, clergymen were required to communicate and inculcate in their flock the official norms in terms of proper moral and sexual behavior.
