Buttock mail was the

colloquial Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in convers ...

term for a

Scottish Poor Law The Scottish Poor Laws were the statutes concerning poor relief passed in Scotland between 1579 and 1929. Scotland had a different Poor Law system to England and the workings of the Scottish laws differed greatly to the Poor Law Amendment Act wh ...

tax which was introduced in 1595. Enforced by the

ecclesiastical court An ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages, these courts had much wider powers in many areas of Europe than ...

s who had responsibility for the moral behaviour of the

laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a laype ...

, buttock mail was levied as a fine for sexual intercourse out of wedlock.

Etymology

In the 17th century, and perhaps earlier when the law that became known as buttock mail was passed, buttock was a colloquial term for a prostitute. The term mail is an

old Scots Early Scots was the emerging literary language of the Northern Middle English speaking parts of Scotland in the period before 1450. The northern forms of Middle English descended from Northumbrian Old English. During this period, speakers refe ...

word meaning a monetary tribute or payment (a

loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because t ...

from

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well a ...

''màl''), from the same root as the word

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to f ...

. Thus, the term buttock mail literally means a monetary payment related to prostitution, referring to its being a fine for fornication, or sex outside of marriage.

History

Ecclesiastical courts had existed since the

Norman invasion The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

. While secular courts were tasked with enforcing secular laws, the responsibility of the ecclesiastical courts was to enforce religious and moral laws. This included discipline of the clergy, enforcement of

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

and wills, as well as enforcement of laws that kept the laity within moral bounds. These ecclesiastical courts were very powerful until the late 17th century, when the Glorious Revolution removed much of their power. The remaining jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts was removed in the 19th century. Fornication was against the law, and punishments were enforced by these ecclesiastical courts. The normal punishment was a public confession through use of the Stool of Repentance, but payment of buttock mail commuted this sentence, allowing the convicted fornicator to avoid public humiliation. The term buttock mail was in use from the 16th until the 19th century.

Notes

References

* * * {{Poor Law Scottish Poor Laws Economic history of Scotland Taxation in Scotland 1595 establishments in Scotland 16th century in Scotland 17th century in Scotland 18th century in Scotland 19th century in Scotland Social history of Scotland Scots law Prostitution in Scotland Scots language Ecclesiastical courts Legal history of Scotland History of taxation in the United Kingdom Abolished taxes