Tarring and Feathering
This was a punishment frequently resorted to at tho commencement of tho war which produced the American revolution. It was practised by the Bishop of Haberstadt, when, in the year 1623, he invaded the territories of the Elector Palatine. Having plundered and burnt two monasteries, the Bishop gave particular directions to his soldiers to secure the persons of nuns and friars unhurt as they rushed from the flaming edifices. Then, ordering them to be stripped naked, their bodies smeared with tar, after which each individual was tumbled into a feather bed ripped open and prepared for the purpose. When the terrified inhabitants had been thus reclothed, they were hunted out of the camp towards the interior parts of the country. Tarring and feathering Is also mentioned in an ancient military code, said to have been drawn up by Richard Coeur do Lion, previous to starting on his expedition to the Holy Land. The reason given by the Royal legislator for adopting so singular a mode of punishmont is, that the offender being landed at the first place they touched after his conviction, and being thus marked, would be generally known and universally avoided.
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Bibliographic details
Manawatu Times, Volume LVI, Issue 7136, 20 April 1933, Page 9
Word Count
196Tarring and Feathering Manawatu Times, Volume LVI, Issue 7136, 20 April 1933, Page 9
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