An obsolete form of honorary satisfaction, customary in the Church in France as late as the seventeenth century. It was performed at the bidding of the ecclesiastical judge, and within the precinct of his court, though at one time it could be enforced at the church door or in some other public place. It was ordinarily inflicted only on condemned criminals, who appeared stripped to the shirt, barefoot and bareheaded, with candle in hand, and begged pardon of God, the king, and of justice.
ANDRE-WAGNER, Dict. de droit can., 3d. ed., I, 93, 94.
APA citation. (1907). Amende Honorable. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01409a.htm
MLA citation. "Amende Honorable." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01409a.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by John Fobian. In memory of Joseph Gimler.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.