C. 142O-?
Romantic Litigants

Examined Lives. The easiest thing for historians to research is the public life of famous people. The private lives of such individuals are also often open to view; because they were important, private documents such as letters and diaries were saved, and other people often commented about their private lives. Thus, much more is known about the marriages and child-rearing practices of the elite—monarchs and their heirs—than about anyone else. Because of their standing, however, the personal and family life of wealthy and powerful individuals cannot be considered typical, and one cannot make generalizations based only on their experiences.

Legal Disputes. The private lives of ordinary people from the Renaissance and Reformation period are largely lost to us, as they rarely leave a trace in the records. One of the times that they do become visible, however...