Amende Honorable
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [1]
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.
The Nuttall Encyclopedia [2]
Originally a mode of punishment in France which required the offender, stripped to his shirt, and led into court with a rope round his neck held by the public executioner, to beg pardon on his knees of his God, his king, and his country; now used to denote a satisfactory apology or reparation.
