About De Schreef: medieval priests in court

The lifestyle and social position of the Flemish parish priest examined
For the first time, a unique look at priestly failure
Jan du Bousquet, a medieval priest, regularly played cards and dice with his lay friends. He was also a 'great' joker: he once locked the church warden in the parish church. And then the highlight of Jan's trial: during confession he had tried to embrace and seduce Maria, a parishioner. The priest was convicted of these crimes by the ecclesiastical court of Cambrai on 13 April 1443.
Who were the men who presented themselves to the bishop to serve God and his Church? What were they to do? What if they crossed the line?
Cursing, fighting, visiting the pub, neglecting sacred duties, stealing church property and especially 'suspicious association with women'... Over de lijn follows the 'bad' life of a thousand Flemish parish priests from the Middle Ages. The unique study provides for the first time a clear insight into their ambiguous social position, between Church and community.
The 'repressive' source material on which historian DAVID VERGAUWEN relies is unusually rich. From council texts, statutes, judgments and accounts he deduces how the Church dealt with priestly failure. What is not publicized can be digested: highly interesting to discover which behavior was acceptable and which was not!