Law amusements
Eccentric English Laws
All of these extracts have been taken directly from the old, dusty English Statute collection.
Egyptians
The Italians did not invent meanness towards gypsies.
During the reign of Edward VIII, the English were tiring of gypsies, whom they called Egyptians, thinking they came from Egypt. The response was extremely harsh and contained in a 1530 law, AN ACT CONCERNING OUTLANDISH PEOPLE, CALLING THEMSELVES EGYPTIANS:
"For so much as before this time divers and many outlandish people calling themselves Egyptians, using no craft nor feat of merchandise, have come into this realm and gone from Shire to Shire in place to place in great company and used great, subtle and crafting means to deceive the people, bearing them in hand, that they buy palmistry could tell men's and women's fortunes, and so many times ... have deceived the people of their money and also have committed many heinous felonies and robberies, to the great hurt and deceit of the people that they have come among.....
"... the Egyptians now being in this realm, have monition to depart within 16 days.... (F)rom henceforth no such person be suffered to come within this the King's realm and if they do, then day and every of them so doing, shall forfeit to the King our Sovereign Lord all their goods and titles and then to be commanded to avoid the realm within 15 days under pain of imprisonment...."
English law ran hot and cold in regards to the Egyptians as the 1530 law was amended often through the centuries; sometimes to soften the discrimination; sometimes to make it worse.
Source: www.duhaime.org.
