The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1884-11-21
VOL. XXIX----NO. As.
From The German Correspondent
A Wife Who Strikes her Husband.
Oakland School (FalIstonl Trapelation

Oakland School, (Fallston) Translation.
The immediate neighborhood showed less
tolerance for aquarrelsome married couple, and
regarded with less indifference this pitiable con-
dition than the custom is nowadays. The old
Germans regarded marriage as condition an
swerable to the community for its proper OBJ
servance, rather than as relation of private
life SO they watched carefully over its happi-
ness. ..f b..
Punishments, even in their. mildest. form,
which were inflicted in cases of unfaithfulness
to the marriage vow, shock us by their severity.
The statute book of Charles the Fifth adjudges
death in most instances.
With mere conjugal unhappiness the neigh
bors interested themselves particularly, and left
more serious offences to the courts. They held
1t as their duty to restrain the delinquents with
vigor and the punishments which they visited
upon the weak husband as we'll as upon the
scolding, refractory wife present such strenuous
comic characteristics that 1t will we'll repay a
little labor to look back into historical records
and refresh the memory with some novel facts
folks Justice" ofundoubted high antiquity
was that practiced in many places, namely,
roof removal. Where the husband was too
weak to protect himself from blows, abuse or
other like dscouragements, at the hands of
his wife, the neighbors removed the roof from
his house. There dwelt within the act, doubt
less, deep significance. If the husband, who,
according TO the old German customs possessed
full power and unlimited sway over his own
household, could not sustain this, and protect
himself, he appeared deeply dishonored in the
eyes of all his neghbors. In the unroofng of
his house, they gave him to understand that he
did not deserve shelter and protection against
wind and weather. To this good custom the civil
authorities made no opposition where it was evil
dent that the husband had shown himself guilty
Of such weakness. This custom ofroofremoyal,
as many examples show, remained in force to
the middle of the last century. Its gradual
disuse came on as time advanced, in mlder and
milder form, till it became rather symbolic than
real while in earlier times the entire dwelling
was utterly uncovered.
In Mainze and its neighborhood this old Gus
tom prevailed till 1866, showing that all the i'm
mediate neighbors took deep interest when q
woman beat her husband. The neghbors
usually put off the roof-removals until the eve
of Shroye Tuesday, before Ash Wednesday, when
they made jolly time of 1t.
All who wished to takes part in the same
made known their intention to the magistrate
OF the place, two weeks before hand. At the
time agreed upon they gathered with flies,
the pair deserving punishment. They mounted
the roof, and beginning at the ridge, they
stripped 1t of the last lath.
Even in the years 116S and 1863 were these
scenes enacted in the principality of Fulda.
There even the court marshal took the matter
in hand. An inquisiton was had, and the
weakness of the husband being manifest, it was
ordered that the household attendants of the
prince should betdke themselves to the house
of the quarrelsome pair, and remove their roof.
All the dongs attending this singular execution
are narrated in the recording chronicle. The
court messenger led the party, after him fol-
lowed the youngest servant with banner, upon
which was, represented the principal scene of
the tragic comedy, The husband was represent
ed in the act of creeping under the table, while
The wife was bringing a beer mug in no gentle
contact with his head. Following this singular
banner, appeared in full livery dress the entire
band of servants. Bat when half way to the
fated house, the reprehensible wife met the pro-
cession She distributed both beer and wine
Having arrived before the house they went at
work to remove the roof.
If the threatened occupants could offer some
appeasing pledge which was acceptable to the
crowd, their roof was renewed only partially,
or in show, and the intention was not fully car
ried out.
A sly fox of a husband whose wife had hit
him with q billet of wood, and whose roof was
about to be removed, escaped the impending
punishment, by promising the crowd puncheon
of beer. Afterwards repenting of his promise,
his neighbors led him before the court and he
was made to fulfil it without delay.
Instead of the roof destruction, another pun
ishment was often resorted to, for the un-
happy couple, wherein the misunderstanding
wife was led around the streets upon an ass
and in the infection of this punishment curious
distinction was observed. If The wife had slyly
hit her husband without giving him an eppor-
tunity to defend himself, some other person
was delegated to lead the ass about; but if in
the conflict he had shown himself the weaker of
the two, he was obliged to lead the procession
himself, exposed to the jokes and abuse of his
neighbors. In this ceremony the wife sat back
wards and instead of the rens, held the tail of
the animal in her hands.
In some places the animal upon which hus-
band beating women were exposed was held q
necessary instrument in the execution of this
punishment; SO at st. Goar the owner of an ass
received yearly two cords of wood from the for
est domain, bound to furnish his animal at the
requirement of the magistrate, whereon to place
and lead about women who had beaten their
husbands.
The beadle took part therein, and read aloud
in the market and in the most frequented parts
of the city the adjudged sentence.
The usages of the middle ages, practised also
other punishmen;s for quarresome married
pairs. According to decree of Blankenburg
in Harz, "a man who suffers himself to be
beaten by his own wife and does not become in
dgnant and complain, shall provide two wooden
suits for servants of the city council"
More peculiar still appears the method which
the Wurtembergers adopted to discourage con-
jugal unpleasantness Masked or in some other
way made unacceptable, the neighbors broke
into the house at night and so belabored the
euarreleome pair, that they minded well to live
peaceably thereafter, through fear of repetition
of such punishment.
But in all these examples it is plainly evident
that the punishment fell upon the man. rather
than upon the quarresome woman. husband
who allowed himself to be subdued and tyran-
lied over by his wife, constantly presented to
the old Germans miserably comic, cowardly
insignificant figure. In the forms of punish
ment chosen, the comic characteristics con-
stantly crop out; for the old Germans would
have their sport even In their punishments.
And man who allowed himself to be beaten by
his wife seemed to them far more deserving of
the ridcue than of the compassion of the com
munity, hence the nature of these punishments.
A GO0d Critic