The Tow on Absalom's Distaff and the Punishment of Lechers in Medieval London
- Author / Editor
- Revard, Carter.
The Tow on Absalom's Distaff and the Punishment of Lechers in Medieval London
- Published
- English Language Notes 17 (1980): 168-70.
- Description
- MilT's reference to Absalom's "having moore tow on his distaf" (I, 3774) adds another significance to its long recognized proverbial one when we realize that carrying a distaff with tow on it to the pillory was statutory punishment in Chaucer's London for persons guilty of crimes of sex and violence.
- Chaucer Subjects
- Miller and His Tale.