The Neck-Verse

William Rufus, the second of the Norman kings of England, established what was called the "Benefit of the Clergy," by which any one condemned to death could save his life by proving that he could read.

The first verse of the fifty-first psalm was chosen as the test to be read, hence it was called the "Neck-Verse."

This law continued in force from the year 1087 until the close of Queen Anne's reign in the year 1700; although for a long period it had fallen into desuetude, and even become a dead letter.