*Ø* Blogmanac March 24, 1832 | Tar and feather
1832 In Hiram, Ohio a group of men beat, tarred and feathered Mormon leader Joseph Smith.
Tarring and feathering is a British punishment that dates back to the days of the Crusades (1191) and King Richard the Lionheart:
Concerning the lawes and ordinances appointed by King Richard for his navie the forme thereof was this … item, a thiefe or felon that hath stolen, being lawfully convicted, shal have his head shorne, and boyling pitch poured upon his head, and feathers or downe strawed upon the same whereby he may be knowen, and so at the first landing-place they shall come to, there to be cast up.
Translation of the original statute of Richard I; in Hakluyt’s Voyages, ii. 21
Tar was readily available in shipyards and feathers came from any handy pillow. Though the cruelty invariably stopped short of murder, the tar needed to be burning hot for application. The first record of this punishment is in 1189. A law was made that any robber voyaging with the crusaders "shall be first shaved, then boiling pitch shall be poured upon his head, and a cushion of feathers shook over it." The miscreant was then to be put ashore at the first port. (Rymer Fœdera, i. 65.)
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
1832 In Hiram, Ohio a group of men beat, tarred and feathered Mormon leader Joseph Smith.
Tarring and feathering is a British punishment that dates back to the days of the Crusades (1191) and King Richard the Lionheart:
Concerning the lawes and ordinances appointed by King Richard for his navie the forme thereof was this … item, a thiefe or felon that hath stolen, being lawfully convicted, shal have his head shorne, and boyling pitch poured upon his head, and feathers or downe strawed upon the same whereby he may be knowen, and so at the first landing-place they shall come to, there to be cast up.
Translation of the original statute of Richard I; in Hakluyt’s Voyages, ii. 21
Tar was readily available in shipyards and feathers came from any handy pillow. Though the cruelty invariably stopped short of murder, the tar needed to be burning hot for application. The first record of this punishment is in 1189. A law was made that any robber voyaging with the crusaders "shall be first shaved, then boiling pitch shall be poured upon his head, and a cushion of feathers shook over it." The miscreant was then to be put ashore at the first port. (Rymer Fœdera, i. 65.)
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
Pip Wilson posted item above at 4:03 PM | Permalink
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