This site is toxic on mobile. There ads on top of the text.
Yep, same here. Gave up reading because it was impossible to read.
What was it like to be an executioner in the Middle Ages?
21–29 of 29 posts
Re: What was it like to be an executioner in the Middle Ages?
#22Here's an article about what it's like to be an executioner in the modern era (Saudi Arabia, 2003): https://web.archive.org/web/20090911101207/http://www.arabne...
Compared to TFA, it seems sensible. In particular: > Before an execution, nonetheless, he will go to the victim’s family to obtain forgiveness for the criminal. “I always have that hope, until the very last minute, and I pray to God to give the criminal a new lease of life. I always keep that hope alive.” That's a very different perspective. If the victim's family forgives the criminal, I gather that they go free. Bu…
I believe forgiveness in this context refers to the Islamic concept of Diya (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diya_(Islam))
Re: What was it like to be an executioner in the Middle Ages?
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
Compared to TFA, it seems sensible. In particular: > Before an execution, nonetheless, he will go to the victim’s family to obtain forgiveness for the criminal. “I always have that hope, until the very last minute, and I pray to God to give the criminal a new lease of life. I always keep that hope alive.” That's a very different perspective. If the victim's family forgives the criminal, I gather that they go free. Bu…
I believe forgiveness in this context refers to the Islamic concept of Diya ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diya_(Islam) )
As I understand it, it's not always about money.
Re: What was it like to be an executioner in the Middle Ages?
#24The article only mentions the clean executions (other than burning at the stake). There were plenty that were gruesome; essentially tortured to death.
The Count of Monte-Cristo carries a depiction of a public execution that is rather ... vivid. The convicted is clubbed to death. And not too cleanly.
Quick research doesn't say whether this fashion was used in reality or not. The wikipedia article on Italian capital punishment doesn't go into style details.
Re: What was it like to be an executioner in the Middle Ages?
#25This site is toxic on mobile. There ads on top of the text.
Yep, same here. Gave up reading because it was impossible to read.
Prepend to the url:
outline.com/
https://outline.com/https://www.livescience.com/medieval-executioner-life.html
Re: What was it like to be an executioner in the Middle Ages?
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s not unimportant. The mistake is (in time) like “what it was to be a computer scientist in WWI”. Like... what?
Bamberg was not exactly on the cutting edge of the Renaissance, so executions in 1573 might have been about the same as in the middle ages. Bamberg was burning witches into the 1600s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamberg_witch_trials
Witch trials were a post-medieval phenomenon.
Re: What was it like to be an executioner in the Middle Ages?
#27It should be added that criminal law that time also meant that executed convicts had to be studied by the general public to inspect any inner deformations or sick organs which could have caused those crimes. So the executioner was also a pathologist who prepared a public autopsy in a special room after the execution. Or there was another special doctor who did that. Many executioners did the autopsy by themselves which raised their profile.
An excellent novel about he executioners business is Pavel Kohout's Katyne.
Re: What was it like to be an executioner in the Middle Ages?
#28I went to the torture device museum show when I was in San Diego about a decade ago.
Seeing how cruelty was inflicted stays with you, so I don't recommend it unless you're studying that area.
The closest analogy is that once you see the goatsie picture, you can't unsee it.
At a higher level, learning how government abused punishment in the past does make you question whether they're any more qualified today.
Re: What was it like to be an executioner in the Middle Ages?
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s not unimportant. The mistake is (in time) like “what it was to be a computer scientist in WWI”. Like... what?
Bamberg was not exactly on the cutting edge of the Renaissance, so executions in 1573 might have been about the same as in the middle ages. Bamberg was burning witches into the 1600s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamberg_witch_trials
The burning of witches has little to do with Medieval times: they had the printing press in Bamberg around 1457... One of the very first places to have one.