A way of condemning a person for a capital crime without having to resort to trial and judgement under the common law. Once attainted, the person would lose their property and land, and often their lives, and their offspring would not be able to inherit.
Attainder
Fact of the Day
Before a naval battle with England in 1545, French king Francis I held a farewell dinner on his flagship, which shortly afterwards sank having caught fire when her guns went off by themselves.
Quote of the Day
"Shoot, you devil! Shoot, in the devil’s name! Shoot, or it will be worse for you!
"
~ William II reportedly speaking to the renowned bowman Walter Tirel on a stag hunt, just before Tirel missed and killed the king
On This Day
1314 The Scottish army, led by Robert the Bruce, won a decisive landmark victory over Edward II's English at the Battle of Bannockburn.
1509 Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon enjoyed a lavish joint coronation at Westminster Abbey. Thirteen days after their low-key wedding, it was intended to be their big celebration.
1519 Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI, died, ten days after giving birth to her tenth child. To history, she is known - with no evidence - as a poisoner, but she was a powerful woman in her own right and reigned as the Governor of Spoleto, a position usually held by cardinals.
1812 Napoleon’s Grand Army crossed the Nieman River, beginning the ill-fated invasion of Russia. Despite gaining considerable land during the summer, the Army was defeated and pushed out of Russia within six months.
1947 Private pilot Kenneth Arnold reported what is widely thought to be the first post-war UFO sighting, of nine shiny objects speeding past Mount Rainier at about 1,200 mph.
1948 The Soviet Union began the Berlin Blockade, blocking the Western Allies' transport access to West Berlin following the introduction of the Deutsche Mark. It was the first key East-West conflict of the Cold War.
