One more thought: the non-medieval Lord Rochester, that notorious rake and
remarkable wit, who died a particularly agonizing and protracted death, and
repented mightily of his sins. Myself, I am inclined to believe him sincere.
But then I once had the opportunity of confessing tearfully to a wise old
priest, who gently pointed out that I wasn't good enough to be that bad.
Karen Rosenstiel
Seattle WA USA
> -----Original Message-----
> From: john lock [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 1999 8:48 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: deathbed declarations
>
> I have come across a number of english legal cases from the
> mid-16th century where great store was set by what the 'ultime voluntate'
> of
> the deceased had been. Though in these cases its incontrovertability was
> probably more to do with its irrevocability. These statements were
> occasionally cited in an attempt to overturn earlier written wills.
> Equally, many times people tried to have
> last-gasp legacies revoked because the deceased had been utterly
> speechless or mad and out of his wits. I have come across them in the
> equity courts, but am no great expert on whether they appear in common law
> cases. And of course such cases only arise when matters are in dispute
> and
> the stakes are high enough...
>
> However these are legacies and not declarations. I have it in the back of
> my mind that condemned criminals were mindful to clear the decks when
> execution was imminent but trying to pull an example out of a hat is going
> to
> be difficult. I suspect I have seen them in the published Elizabethan
> assize circuit accounts so it won't be a medieval example.
>
> And of course there are the politically motivated judicial murders in
> which
> the likes of Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell were forced to confess
> non-existent offences publicly. I'm not sure how credulous the general
> populace were, but in the mid-1550s when in rapid succession Thomas
> Seymour, his brother Edward, and Robert Dudley sent each other to the
> block
> like dominos they must have had some doubts!
>
> Regards
>
> John A.W. Lock
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <[log in to unmask]>
> To: 000<[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 1999 7:07 PM
> Subject: deathbed declarations
>
>
> > Does anyone know how or when the belief arose that deathbed statements
> or
> > confessions are true? Is there any authority for the idea or is it just
> a
> > folk-belief?
> >
> > pat sloane
> >
>
>
>
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