Brewer's: Confession

John of Nepomuc, canon of Prague, suffered death rather than violate the seal of confession. The Emperor Wenceslas ordered him to be thrown off a bridge into the Moldau, because he refused to reveal the confession of the empress. He was canonised as St. John Nepomucen.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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