Flagellants.
A sect which appeared in Hungary during the Great Plague of 1348. They looked upon scourging as the only means of avoiding the divine punishment for sin.
Flammock’s Rebellion.
A rising in Cornwall, headed by Thomas Flammock in 1497, in opposition to the tax levied for the maintenance of the war against Scotland. The rebels were defeated at Blackheath, and Flammock and others executed.
Fleet Marriages.
Marriages celebrated within the precincts of the Fleet Prison by clergymen of indifferent character. They were rendered impossible by Lord Hardwicke’s Act in 1753.
Flibustiers.
See Buccaneers.
Flood’s Reform Bill.
A sweeping measure of reform introduced into the Irish Parliament by Flood in 1784. It gave rise to scenes of the wildest disorder, both in the House and throughout the country.