Prior to the seventeenth century, convicted criminals in Britain faced grim fates. Few went to prison—the Tower of London was reserved mostly for high class prisoners. Instead the courts relied on one of two options: physical punishment or death. And… Read More
In 1439, the parliament of King Henry VI proclaimed that kissing was banned in England, out of concern for “helth and welfare” during an epidemic of plague.
source: Leprosy in Medieval England by Carole Rawcliffe (277)