ABSTRACT
The trial of the earl of Castlehaven is an important case in the history of both homosexuality and spousal rights. Castlehaven was accused of helping his servants rape his countess; encouraging his former page to impregnate his teenaged step daughter (and daughter-in-law); and committing sodomy with his male servants. It was not unusual at this time for crimes committed by members of the nobility to be overlooked, but as individuals of this rank were expected to model appropriate behaviour, particularly regarding morality, Castlehaven’s crimes were too heinous to pass over. Because Castlehaven was a peer of the realm, he was entitled to be tried by his fellow nobles, a trial that was presided over by the lord keeper, the senior administrative officer in England. A key feature of this case is the attention the prosecutors and the judges paid to the elements necessary to prove the crimes. They needed to establish, for example, whether the countess, who was known to have been unfaithful, could be raped; whether a wife could give testimony against her husband; whether the testimony of servants was sufficient to convict a titled peer; and whether a charge of buggery could succeed without penetration. Yet, given that Castlehaven was prosecuted by several senior members of the royal administration with wide legal experience, the fact that he was required – though being “no scholar, nor learned in the law” – to defend himself from serious capital offences without assistance from legal counsel demonstrates that the scales of justice, despite the careful attention to procedure and legal formalities, were sometimes poorly balanced. Interestingly, this chapbook was published in 1699, although it refers to events that occurred more than half a century earlier; according to the author, this was because a spate of sodomy trials then taking place in London made the case once again worthy of publication.
