on, felony, or any
other grievous crime not confessed, the party accused doth yield, if
he be a noble man, to be tried by an inquest (as I have said) and his
peers; if a gentleman, by gentlemen; and an inferior, by God and by
the country, to wit, the yeomanry (for combat or battle is not greatly
in use), and, being condemned of felony, manslaughter, etc., he is
eftsoons hanged by the neck till he be dead, and then cut down and
buried. But if he be convicted of wilful murder, done either upon
pretended malice or in any notable robbery, he is either hanged alive
in chains near the place where the fact was committed (or else upon
compassion taken, first strangled with a rope), and so continueth till
his bones consume to nothing. We have use neither of the wheel nor of
the bar, as in other countries; but, when wilful manslaughter is
perpetrated, beside hanging, the offender hath his right hand commonly
stricken off before or near unto the place where the act was done,
after which he is led forth to the place of execution, and there put
to death according to the law.

The word felon is derived of the Saxon words _fell_ and _one_, that is
to say, an evil and wicked one, a one of untameable nature and
lewdness not to be suffered for fear of evil example and the
corruption of others. In like sort in the word _felony_ are many
grievous crimes contained, as breach of prison (Ann. I of Edward the
Second), disfigurers of the prince's liege people (Ann. 5 of Henry the
Fourth), hunting by night with painted faces and visors (Ann. I of
Henry the Seventh), rape, or stealing of women and maidens (Ann. 3 of
Henry Eight), conspiracies against the person of the prince (Ann. 3 of
Henry the Seventh), embezzling of goods committed by the master to the
servant above the value of forty shillings (Ann. 17 of Henry the
Eighth), carrying of horses or mares into Scotland (Ann. 23 of Henry
Eight), sodomy and buggery (Ann. 25 of Henry the Eighth), conjuring,
forgery, witchcraft, and digging up of crosses (Ann. 33 of Henry
Eight), prophesying upon arms, cognisances, names, and badges (Ann. 33
of Henry Eight), casting of slanderous bills (Ann. 37, Henry Eight),
wilful killing by poison (Ann. 1 of Edward the Sixth), departure of a
soldier from the field (Ann. 2 of Edward the Sixth), diminution of
coin, all offences within case of premunire, embezzling of records,
goods taken from dead men by their servants, stealing of whatsoever
cattle, robbing by the