Immdietly inspired by SageRats comment in another thread. As a lawyer I know that common law never really allowed the beating of wives, contary to what some people belive about the rule of thumb and all. I do realise that socially this may have been acceptable through the ages to an extent. We have seen fifties movies with spankings, and read about women being punished for being “bad”. Yet creulty has always been a ground for divorce in common law countries. My question, over say the last five hundred years how much has been “too much”. Has it remained consistant over the years, or did it vary until becoming unacceptable.