Coventry, Sir John, a member of the Long Parliament; when, as a member of Parliament in Charles II.'s reign, he made reflections on the profligate conduct of the king, he was set upon by bullies, who slit his nose to the bone; a deed which led to the passing of the Coventry Act, which makes cutting and maiming a capital offence (1640‒1682).
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Coventry * Coverdale, Miles