Crop-ears
Crop-ears refers to the historical practice of cutting off the ears of individuals as a form of punishment for political and ecclesiastical dissent. This practice traces back to at least the tenth century and became particularly prevalent during the seventeenth century, a time marked by significant religious strife in England. King Charles I and Archbishop William Laud adopted ear-cropping as a means to suppress criticism from Puritans, who opposed the established Church of England. Notably, the infamous case of William Prynne, a staunch critic of Laud, exemplifies the severity of this punishment, as his ears were cropped for his outspoken views.
As Puritans migrated to the New World seeking refuge from persecution, they brought with them the practice of ear-cropping as a form of enforcement against dissenters. In 1631, Phillip Ratcliff faced this punishment from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his controversial speeches. The colony later targeted Quakers, who continued to challenge their authority despite repeated banishments. Ultimately, the Puritans resorted to ear-cropping, though it failed to deter Quakers from returning, leading to more extreme measures, including executions in the late 1650s. This history highlights the intersection of punishment, religious authority, and the struggle for dissenting voices throughout early colonial America.
Subject Terms
Crop-ears
Definition: Name given to persons who had their ears cut off for criticizing English political or religious leaders during the 1600’s
Significance: Ear-cropping was a common form of censorship in seventeenth century England and its colonies
The practice of cropping the ears of political and ecclesiastical critics reaches back at least to the tenth century and continued sporadically until the eighteenth century. It was a form of punishment, however, most widely used during the religiously tumultuous years of the seventeenth century. In the 1630’s especially, when King Charles I and Archbishop William Laud sought to quell criticism of the Church of England by Puritans, ear-cropping was a mainstay of official policy.
When many Puritans fled from England to the New World to escape the wrath of Charles I, they included among their own repertoire of criminal sanctions the ear-croppings that the king had visited upon them. In 1631 Phillip Ratcliff earned an ear-cropping from the Massachusetts Bay Colony Puritans for making scandalous speeches against the colony’s government and one of the colony’s churches. Twenty-five years later the colony became exasperated by an influx of Quakers who, being repeatedly banished from Massachusetts, refused to stay banished. To quell this religious zeal, the Puritans revived the practice of ear-cropping, at least for males. But even this deterrent proved insufficient to dissuade the Quakers from reentering the colony, and the Puritans ultimately found it necessary to execute three Quakers on the Boston commons in 1659 and 1660.