Pillory Square
Alas, the empty pillory square. Imagine the fun that was had in days gone by. Public humiliation, my, my my…just think of the candidates. A few former bosses come to mind; maybe a relative or two. Those were the days.
Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe, was pilloried on July 31, 1703. He was charged with seditious libel and, among other things, pilloried. He spent 3 days there. Legend has it that instead of throwing animal intestines, feces, eggs, and urine like they usually did, people showered Defoe with flowers.
The word pillory comes from the old French word ‘pellori’. So the French must’ve invented this! Mon dieu! France limited a person’s time in a pillory to no longer than 2 hours. That’s very kind. They finally abolished it in 1832. People were being pilloried in the United States right up until 1905. Yikes.
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