Morals and Moral Regulation in Protestant France

The investigation by the consistory of the Reformed Church of Montauban of an unmarried pregnancy and attempted abortion in the sixteenth century offers important insights into moral and social relationships within the early modern European community. Though the effect of the consistory's activities on the lives of those that it sought to discipline ought not be overestimated (intrusive as those activities might be by modern standards), a close reading of the narrative embedded in the consistorial records provides a valuable understanding of the Protestant church's role in recording traditional attitudes and everyday behavior.