In Early Modern England, swearing wasn’t just rude—it was illegal.

The 1606 act under James I imposed fines on those who took God’s name in vain. It stipulated that:

• A first offence resulted in a fine of 12 pence or time in the stocks.
   

• A second offence doubled the penalty.
   

• Repeat offences could result in imprisonment.
   

Magistrates frequently punished public swearers. Court records from the period include dozens of cases where individuals were fined, whipped, or publicly shamed for “profane cursing.” In one case from Essex in 1611, a man was fined for saying “by God’s wounds” during an argument in the marketplace.

Religious authorities also policed language. The Ecclesiastical Courts, which enforced moral discipline, investigated swearing alongside fornication, drunkenness, and heresy.

Ironically, the legal crackdown led to an explosion of euphemisms. People began to invent creative workarounds:

• “Gadzooks” = God's hooks (nails of the cross)
   

• “Gad” or “Odds bodikins” = mild substitutes for stronger oaths
   

These new forms were less offensive but still conveyed strong emotion, allowing speakers to vent without incurring fines or divine wrath.

Profanity in Literature and Drama

Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre played a key role in reflecting and shaping attitudes toward profanity. Writers like Shakespeare, Marlowe, and Jonson used swearing for dramatic effect, character development, and realism.

In Shakespeare, characters’ swearing often revealed their status, mood, or intentions:

• Nobles used religious oaths to assert authority.
   

• Villains cursed viciously to show moral corruption.
   

• Fools and drunkards swore for comic effect.
   

In King Lear, for example, the Earl of Kent tells Oswald:

“Thou whoreson zed! thou unnecessary letter!”

Here, “whoreson” was a harsh insult, meaning “son of a whore,” showing just how layered and creative Elizabethan insult culture could be.

Similarly, the character of Thersites in Troilus and Cressida is a foul-mouthed cynic who uses sexual and bodily insults in nearly every line:

“Lechery, lechery; still, wars and lechery; nothing else holds fashion.”

But even the theatre faced censorship. The Master of the Revels, who licensed plays, had the authority to cut offensive language, and actors sometimes substituted milder oaths during performance. shutdown123