Legal Definitions - quartering

Definition: Quartering refers to the act of dividing a criminal's body into quarters after execution, typically as part of the punishment for a crime such as high treason. It can also refer to the provision of living quarters to members of the military or the dividing of a shield into four parts to show four different coats of arms.

• After being convicted of high treason, the criminal was hanged, drawn, and quartered.
• The soldiers were provided with comfortable quarters to stay in during their deployment.
• The coat of arms was divided into quarters, each representing a different aspect of the family's history.

The first example illustrates the historical use of quartering as a form of punishment for serious crimes. The second example shows how quartering can refer to the provision of living quarters to military personnel. The third example demonstrates how quartering can be used in heraldry to divide a shield into four parts to represent different aspects of a family's history.