15. If you committed slander under Norman Law, you had to pay damages and stand in a marketplace holding your nose telling everyone you were a liar
During the Norman period of English History (1066-1154), kings were hot on name-calling and slander. The first Norman king, after all, spent his whole life being called ‘William the Bastard’ because his parents weren’t married. Under their law, someone found guilty of slander had to pay a huge fine to the victim. Then they had to stand in a marketplace – the center of a medieval town – and hold their nose. In this ridiculous pose, the convicted would inform all passers-by of their crime. Public humiliation has long been an effective means of preventing crime.
