From rite to right: How holy days became a natural right in medieval England

This thesis explores medieval English holy days using the theoretical framework of medieval natural rights established by Brian Tierney, R. H. Helmholz, and Kenneth Pennington. It suggests that holy days were invented as natural rights in the Middle Ages based on evidence from summae and from prosecutions of feast nonobservance by ecclesiastical courts. The right allowed all people in society to observe holy days by abstaining from servile work. This had great implications on social relations in medieval society because it limited the power masters had over their servants.