Tarring and feathering

Tarring and feathering is a method of punishment, torture or the ( non-fatal ) lynching. Suspected or actual criminals were painted over with tar or rolled in tar, pelted with feathers and then usually exposed.

The penalty has been known since ancient times and was particularly common in the United States of the 19th century. After the founding of the Ku Klux Klan in 1915, this form of lynching experienced a revival. According to authors David Mark Chalmers ( Hooded Americanism, 1965) and William Peirce Randel ( Ku Klux Klan, 1965) were among the so-called tar -and- feather -parties to the widespread in the 1920s instruments of intimidation and torture of people that. Even in the 1960s, this type came seemingly archaic punishment, according to the political scientist Wolf -Rüdiger Wersich in individual cases. Even in regular court cases of the 18th century seems to have been variously imposed. The tarring and feathering makes the condemned figuratively outlaws.

When tar used is not the common use today bitumen or asphalt, but to tar. This is viscous in the unheated state; tarring therefore did not lead the victim to burns.

Was processed Literary torture method of Teerens and feathering about Edgar Allan Poe in the story, The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether by Mark Twain in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In the comics the Lucky Luke series, the tarring and feathering often appears with an ironic undertone as punishment for cheats and other cheats. Also in the Funny Paperback comics the tarring and feathering is often used as a punishment for the Beagle Boys or other thieves and crooks.

The saying of tarring and feathering is used in a metaphorical way as a threat, to torture someone to punish and expose the long term.