Rogue†sounds quaintly comic to the modern ear, a seldom-used word more likely to provoke laughter than indignation. In seventeenth-century New England, however, calling someone a “rogue†was no joke. “Rogue†meant liar, villain or thief, and it was the worst sort of insult, liable to trigger a fistfight or a slander suit. Accused rogues often wound up explaining themselves to a judge or jury, and the old court records reveal amusing – and sometimes shocking – details of life in long-ago New England. One case from colonial New Haven offers a particularly colorful glimpse into the bawdy culture of an ironworks village, where Scotsman Patrick Morran feuded with the Pinion family. for more click on the introduction
