In the year 1304, Matilda Bonamy of Guernsey, a young woman
from one of the Anglo-Norman island’smost established and affluent
families, found herself in a predicament familiar to many of
today’s youth. A liaison with Jordan Clouet, also from a family
of long provenance in Guernsey if not as comfortable, had left
her pregnant. To Matilda the solution to the problem was obvious:
marriage. An exchange of vows before the birth of the child
would avoid any stigma or legal impediment of bastardy. Clouet,
however, was not compliant with her wishes. He steadfastly refused
to marry her. Faced with the shameful prospect of single parenthood
to an illegitimate child, Bonamy turned to the church
in an effort to find support for her cause. Jordan’s obstinacy
prevented the court from hearing the suit; he ignored repeated
summonses to appear before the bishop. Given the church’s promarital
stance, Jordan probably supposed the best strategy was
non-appearance, in the hopes that the court could not conduct a
proper case in his absence (Donahue 205). What he did not count
on was being excommunicated. To offer Jordan added incentive
to respond to the citation, the court awarded Matilda letters
informing Jordan of his excommunication. When she met with
Jordan to consider the matter, he was fuming, suddenly finding
himself backed into a corner. Excommunication was a serious disability
in fourteenth-century society: once announced, no good
Christian might converse with him without risking excommunication
themselves.