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And among the chastisements recorded for the Turkish harems was death by the silken cord, a penalty sanctioned by custom and executed without the shedding of blood. This duty was entrusted to a palace eunuch sworn to secrecy, trained in restraint, and bound to the household by lifelong service.nThe woman upon whom judgment had fallen was brought into the appointed chamber and caused to kneel in the prescribed posture. The remaining women of the harem were likewise seated in ordered ranks, present for admonition and witness. All were prepared according to established discipline, so that no garment, token, or private concealment remained between the body and authority, and the marks of prior ordinance were plainly borne, as the Law had required in earlier rites. All had to sit as the condemned women, widely open legs so the master could enjoy the view of their cleanly circumcised pudendum. nWhen silence was secured, the eunuch advanced from behind the condemned and set about her neck a cord of silk, in accordance with usage. He drew it with measured strength, diminishing her breath without haste.nIn certain cases, by command of the master, the cord was eased at the very threshold of departure and thereafter drawn close again after a brief span, so that the assembled women might apprehend the weight of correction and remember their place within the order of the house.nWhen the lord of the household judged the instruction sufficient, he gave a sign slight and wordless. The cord was then drawn firm and held without release until motion ceased and the sentence was complete.nThus was discipline affirmed, the household instructed, and the registers closed in silence.nn
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