This is the Dorset quarter sessions order books 1625-37 It allegedly says Willus Hardey and somewhere, possibly in this clip, Nichus Hellyer I am particularly interested in Willus. What's this all about?
Delivered a whipping? Presumably therefore his sentence was to be whipped if my schoolgirl Latin is functioning properly - but I am certain that others will give a more precise transcription. Janet
Willus Hardey (ie William Hardey) is the second name in the first group - "to be whipped and ....." Nichus Hellyer (Nicholas Hellyer) is the first name in the second group - "to be put in the stocks for a space of three hours and afterwards ....." The final word in each case looks like delibari, but the line above indicates that some letters have been omitted, so I think the word in full will be deliberari. I was toying with a possible connection with liber ("free"), so something like "deprived of liberty", but I can't see that meaning in my dictionary. So, as Janet suggests, I think it probably means "delivered", though in the sense of delivered to prison, after the first part of the sentence.
Well, there is that possibility, and the English "deliver" can mean that too. And unless there's some indication (presumably in another document, as it isn't in this one) that they were to be delivered to the prison in order to be held there for a particular length of time, you may well be correct. What we need is not just a Latin expert, but someone who knows about 17th century crime and punishment: were stocks and whipping an alternative to being locked up, or a precursor to it?
Goodness! I wasn't expecting that. I wonder what they did? I wonder if it's recorded. He might be my ancestor, but I do need to see where in Dorset this is first
That makes perfect sense as in "whipped and released" instead of a custodial sentence. Wonder what he was guilty of ..... Janet
