What the Kim Davis Case Tells Us about America’s Long Middle Ages
Posted September 8, 2015
External Article: Medievalists.net
Richard Utz, chair of the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, published an article on Medievalists.net entitled “A clerk there was of Rowan County also…What the Kim Davis Case Tells Us about America’s Long Middle Ages.”
He says:
“Have you ever thought about the relationship between the words ‘clerk’ and ‘clergy’? ‘Clerk’ we associate with someone doing ‘clerical’ work, like Kim Davis, the Rowan County Clerk who has now been jailed for contempt of court after refusing to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. County clerks are usually responsible for issuing various county licenses (marriage, motel, liquor, bingo), keeping records, issuing certificates of vital statistics (birth, death, marriage), computing tax extensions, and maintaining accurate county maps. ‘Clergy’ we associate with any and all religious leaders, especially those ordained for religious duties in Christian denominations.”
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