In England in the late Middle Ages, the penalty for lesser crimes was branding.
Miscreants were generally branded on the fleshy part of the left hand with the
hot iron. Rogues and vagabonds were marked with the letter 'R'; thieves with
'T'; and those guilty of manslaughter with 'M'. Other parts of the body were
also branded: for shoplifting, the cheek was burned; for blasphemy, the tongue
was bored through with a red-hot skewer; for perjury, the letter 'P' was branded
on the forehead. Branding remained a penalty in the English civil court until
1829, but was not abolished in the army until 1879.