Legal Definitions - childwit

Childwit is a historical legal term referring to a financial penalty, or fine, imposed by an employer (historically called a "master") on a female servant who became pregnant without the employer's permission or consent. This practice was common in certain historical periods and reflected the significant control employers held over the personal lives and labor of their servants.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of childwit:

• Imagine a young woman working as a scullery maid in a large English manor house during the 16th century. When her pregnancy becomes apparent, the lord of the manor, her employer, levies a childwit fine against her. He justifies this by claiming her condition will disrupt her duties and was not sanctioned by him, forcing her to pay a sum from her meager wages as a penalty for her unauthorized pregnancy.

• Consider a dairymaid employed on a vast agricultural estate in the 17th century. Upon discovering she is pregnant, her employer, the estate owner, imposes a childwit fine. This penalty is exacted because the owner views her pregnancy as a breach of her service agreement and a potential burden on the estate's operations, as it might impair her ability to perform her physically demanding tasks in the dairy.