Amende Honorable

Amende Honorable in an ecclesiastical sense, is a sort of penance inflicted on offenders in some cases. It consists in walking barefooted and in a shirt only, with a lighted torch in the hand and a cord round the neck, and before the church, or some other auditory, demanding pardon of God, the king, and justice for the offence committed. The ecclesiastical courts of Great Britain have the power to impose a somewhat similar penance on offenders by directing them to stand in the sight of the congregation and confess their evil deeds.