You've all heard of the rule of thumb, i.e., mustn't beat your wife with a
stick larger in circumference than your thumb. Was this a legal rule or an
urban myth? Some years ago this question was debated at some length (I
believe on a history discussion list), and, as far as I could tell, no
consensus was reached by the debaters. I was and am skeptical, but others
seem sure that such a rule was operative in early modern England.
Yours, Bill Godshalk
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* W. L. Godshalk *
* Professor, Department of English *
* University of Cincinnati *
* Cincinnati OH 45221-0069 * Stellar Disorder
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