The Littlemore Priory scandals of 1517 and 1518 involved accusations of sexual immorality and brutal violence. The Benedictine priory in Oxfordshire, England, was very small and poor and had a history of troubled relations with its bishop. Katherine Wells, the prioress of Littlemore, was accused of putting nuns in the stocks for extended periods and physically assaulting them. She entertained men in her parlour, had a baby by the priory's chaplain and pawned the priory's jewels to pay for the child's upbringing; at least one other nun also had a child. On one occasion several nuns broke out of the priory through a window and escaped into the surrounding villages. The bishop launched an investigation, and in 1525 the priory was closed. It was one of the priories that Cardinal Wolsey suppressed during the 1520s. The house became a farmstead and was gradually pulled down; only one original building survived into the 21st century.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Littlemore_Priory_scandals

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1917:

Being unable to resolve disputes with Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Blueshirts, the other ice hockey clubs of Canada's National Hockey Association officially agreed to break away and form the National Hockey League. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Hockey_League

1939:

The Soviet Red Army shelled the village of Mainila and then claimed that the fire originated from Finland, giving them a casus belli to launch the Winter War a few days later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelling_of_Mainila

2011:

NASA launched the Mars Science Laboratory mission from Cape Canaveral, carrying the Curiosity rover onboard. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_%28rover%29

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

double life: 1. An existence or life that has two aspects, particularly when one of them is regarded as embarrassing, immoral, or unlawful and thus kept hidden from a person's family, friends, and work colleagues. 2. The hidden, or more unusual, aspect of a person's life. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/double_life

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

To introduce people to a different world, to encounter the miracle of being, that is important.   --Eugène Ionesco https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Ionesco