A form of physical punishment and public humiliation used during in the Medieval and Early Modern periods. The stocks partially immobilised the person being punished and they were left exposed in a public place for passers by to see them.
Put in the stocks
Fact of the Day
In the late 16th century, the legal age for marriage in Stratford-upon-Avon was 14 for men and 12 for women.
Quote of the Day
"Democracy means government by discussion, but it is only effective if you can stop people talking.
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~ Clement Attlee
On This Day
1330 Roger Mortimer, de facto ruler of England after he and Edward II's wife Isabella deposed Edward, was hanged at Tyburn for assuming royal power.
1530 Cardinal Thomas Wolsey died of natural causes on his way to face charges of treason.
1781 The crew of the British slave ship Zong massacred 131 captives by throwing them overboard in a bid to claim insurance money after the crew had made a navigational error and missed their destination.
1812 Napoleon's army retreated across the Berezina River in Belarus. Although the army managed to avoid getting trapped, they suffered massive casualties, and the word 'berezina' became French slang for 'disaster.'
1947 The United Nations approved the partition of Palestine to form an independent Jewish state.
