Custom and conflict: disputes over tithe in the Diocese of Canterbury, 1501-1600

This thesis seeks to explore custom and conflict in Kentish society through a study of tithe litigation in the diocese of Canterbury. It is based on an examination of ecclesiastical court material. The approach differs from most previous studies of tithe litigation in the emphasis on the practice of tithe payment as opposed to its statutory, legal or administrative aspects. An understanding of the everyday operation of tithe payment and tithing methods is regarded as an essential precursor to analysing trends in litigation. The transmission and negotiation of customary practice within local communities is examined in the second chapter. Chapter three focuses on conflict over tithe, particularly as evinced in verbal and physical confrontations between tithe collectors and tithe payers. These were confrontations which often revealed themselves in ritual and symbolic form. This chapter also considers the resistance evident in the tithe collection process. A statistical analysis of tithe litigation in the diocese for the period 1501-1600 is undertaken in chapter four. This examination draws particular attention to the prevalence of dispute throughout the period and to a geographical concentration of parishes experiencing a high number of disputes within certain areas of the diocese. Chapter five seeks to examine the local dynamics of dispute through case studies of four different parishes. These studies reveal the complexity of tithe payment and the way in which conflict over tithe very often informed interpersonal relationships in other spheres, notably in relation to religious practice and belief and in convictions about reciprocal behaviour.