Condemning wife beating
- Creator(s):
- Heale, William
- Title:
- An Apologie for Women, or, An Opposition to Mr. Dr. G. His Assertion: Who Held in the Act at Oxforde, anno 1608, That It Was Lawfull for Husbands to Beate Their Wiues
- Publication/Origin:
- Oxford: Printed by Joseph Barnes, 1609
- Description:
- It was legal and quite common for husbands to beat their wives in early modern England. Heale’s An Apologie was one of the earliest condemnations of the practice. He wrote it after William Gouger gave a public lecture upholding a husband’s right to beat his wife. In his dedication, Heale acknowledges “the Ladie M. H.” for urging him to produce the book quickly. He marshalls arguments from nature, morality, civil policy, civil and canon law, and the law of God.
- Citation:
- Heale, William, An Apologie for Women, or, An Opposition to Mr. Dr. G. His Assertion: Who Held in the Act at Oxforde, anno 1608, That It Was Lawfull for Husbands to Beate Their Wiues, Oxford: Printed by Joseph Barnes, 1609, Lisa Unger Baskin Collection, Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. Accessed April 18, 2025, https://exhibits.library.duke.edu/exhibits/show/baskin/item/3971