The Neck Verse: Si Latine loqui potes Versum Collum, Laxamentum Effugere potes (If You Can Speak the Neck Verse in Latin, You Might Escape the Hangman’s Noose)

Hopefully, you will never find yourself in a situation where you need to know about the Neck Verse. If you do, however, this may be one of the most useful articles you ever read. For that reason, you may want to take notes; this is one test you don’t want to fail.

The Duel: When Swords and Sass Lead to Manslaughter

It was a normal day in 1598 London—well, as normal as it gets when you’re living in a city where duels are a semi-regular pastime, and theater is serious business. Ben Jonson, actor, playwright, and BFFs with William Shakespeare, got into a bit of a kerfuffle with fellow actor Gabriel Spencer. Clearly someone had taken their method acting just a little too far. After some swordplay, Ben Jonson landed the final blow, sending Spencer to that great retirement home for actors in the sky.

Telling an actor to break a leg is one thing. Killing one is something else entirely, and it drew the immediate attention of the authorities. Jonson was arrested and charged with manslaughter. While you might think this would mark the end of his career (although, come to think of it, Alec Baldwin seems to be doing ok) Jonson had a not-so-secret weapon up his Elizabethan sleeve: the Benefit of Clergy.

The “Get Out of Jail Free” Card (As Long As You Can Speak Latin)

If you’re wondering what exactly this Benefit of Clergy is and how it saved Jonson from an unscheduled meeting with the executioner, buckle up. The ”Benefit of Clergy” was a delightful little loophole that had been around since the 12th century. It allowed members of the clergy to avoid secular punishment for crimes—including things as minor as oh, I don’t know, murder—if they could prove they were literate.

By literate, that meant you could recite a specific Bible verse in Latin, known as the Neck Verse. Since most people at the time couldn’t read anything, much less Latin, this was essentially the legal equivalent of saying, “No worries, Father, you’re free to go.” It wasn’t just actual priests who could use this escape route. Over time, this clerical perk became available to anyone who could manage to fake their way through a little Latin recital.

Ben Jonson, being the literal Renaissance man he was, stood up in court, mumbled a bit of Psalm 51 in Latin, and—presto!—was granted the Benefit of Clergy. Instead of hanging, he was branded on the thumb with an “M” for manslayer and sent on his merry way. We wonder if he could have shown his hand from a different direction, making it appear as if he had already paid the penalty for being a womanslayer, but we were unable to find an answer to that question.

Canon Law: When Priests Could Get Away With Murder

How did this bizarre legal loophole come about? We have to thank Canon Law and Henry II for that. Back in the 12th century, there was a heated debate about whether priests could be tried in both secular and ecclesiastical courts. Naturally, the church wasn’t too keen on having its own subject to secular justice, so Henry II conceded that clergy would only face the church’s courts, which were much more forgiving.

Soon, everyone from doorkeepers to sub-deacons to actual priests was claiming the Benefit of Clergy, as long as they could wiggle their way through a quick reading from the Psalms. By 1351, under Edward III, it became law that all you had to do was read the Miserere Mei from Psalm 51 out loud, and you’d be absolved of your crimes—though you’d still have to give up your property and enjoy a lovely branding on your thumb as a reminder not to kill actors in sword fights.

HAVE MERCY UPON ME, O GOD (from the Douay-Rheims Bible)

MISERERE MEI, DEUS (from the Latin Vulgate Bible)

Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity. Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me. To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee: that thou mayst be justified in thy words and mayst overcome when thou art judged. For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceive me. For behold thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me. Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice. Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels. Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit. I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted to thee. Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice. O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise. For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted. A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up. Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and whole burnt offerings: then shall they lay calves upon thy altar.

Miserere mei, Deus: secundum magnam misericordiam tuam. Et secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum, dele iniquitatem meam. Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea: et a peccato meo munda me. Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco: et peccatum meum contra me est semper. Tibi soli peccavi, et malum coram te feci: ut justificeris in sermonibus tuis, et vincas cum judicaris. Ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum: et in peccatis concepit me mater mea. Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti: incerta et occulta sapientiae tuae manifestasti mihi. Asperges me hysopo, et mundabor: lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor. Auditui meo dabis gaudium et laetitiam: et exsultabunt ossa humiliata. Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis: et omnes iniquitates meas dele. Cor mundum crea in me, Deus: et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis. Ne proiicias me a facie tua: et spiritum sanctum tuum ne auferas a me. Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui: et spiritu principali confirma me. Docebo iniquos vias tuas: et impii ad te convertentur. Libera me de sanguinibus, Deus, Deus salutis meae: et exsultabit lingua mea justitiam tuam. Domine, labia mea aperies: et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam. Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem utique: holocaustis non delectaberis. Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus: cor contritum, et humiliatum, Deus, non despicies. Benigne fac, Domine, in bona voluntate tua Sion: ut aedificentur muri Ierusalem. Tunc acceptabis sacrificium justitiae, oblationes, et holocausta: tunc imponent super altare tuum vitulos.

Henry VII: Raising the Bar (Or At Least Changing the Verse)

Naturally, things couldn’t stay this easy forever. By the time of Henry VII, the authorities got smart and started changing the required Bible verse, probably in an attempt to catch out the less-devoted Latin scholars among the criminal class. This led to many a would-be duelist finding themselves on the wrong end of a hangman’s noose, after fumbling over their Latin homework.

By Elizabeth I’s reign, even women, who were prevented from becoming priests, could use this loophole, which made the whole system seem less like a divine right and more like a handy legal cheat code. By 1706, the whole reading-out-loud bit was scrapped, and first-time offenders could claim the Benefit of Clergy without even pretending to know their Psalms.

The Slow Death of the ‘Benefit’ (1823-1841)

Eventually, after centuries of letting Latin-savvy murderers off with a thumb-branding and a confiscated estate, the English legal system caught up with the times. In 1823, the Judgement of Death Act gave judges the discretion to impose lighter sentences for first-time offenders, regardless of their ecclesiastical knowledge. But, because bureaucracy never likes to let go of a loophole entirely, the Benefit of Clergy didn’t officially die until 1827. And even then, some lingering legal doubts meant it wasn’t fully buried until 1841.

As the saying goes, “The mills of the law grind slowly, but they sure do grind.”

That’s not to say that there aren’t benefits to knowing some Latin. If nothing else, it will allow you to use the ATMs at Vatican City.

There you have it—the tale of how Ben Jonson, playwright, poet, and casual manslayer, turned his literacy into a literal lifesaver. The next time you’re brushing up on your Latin, just remember: back in the day, knowing a bit of scripture might have saved you from the gallows. Now it’ll just impress people at trivia night.

---