Thre strokes in the nekke he smoot hire tho,
The tormentour, but for no maner chaunce
He myghte noght smyte al hir nekke atwo;
And for ther was that tyme an ordinaunce
That no man sholde doon man swich penaunce
The ferthe strook to smyten, softe or soore,
This tormentour ne dorste do namoore,
But half deed, with hir nekke ycorven there,
He lefte hir lye, and on his wey he went.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. When Cecilia survives scalding hot water in a cauldron, Almachius sends his executioner to slay her in the bath. But three strokes in the neck fail to decapitate her and an ordinance does not allow the executioner administer a fourth. So he leaves her lie there half dead with her neck cut and goes on his way.