The guillotine was one of the most popular and widely used machines designed and used for executions by beheading. As one of the main symbols of the French Revolution, the guillotine not only represented, but also delivered death. Since the guillotine was in use for over 200 years, it saw much destruction and took many lives. The guillotine has had other machines like it that were just as deadly but with different names. The guillotine was fashioned from the idea of two other decapitation machines (Andrews). One of them is the Halifax Gibbet. It is thought that the first time an execution by beheading was done was in Halifax. Which is how the Halifax Gibbet received its name (HistoryLearningSite). This machine stood fifteen feet tall and used an axe head attached to a piece of wood that slid between grooves of the two fifteen foot beams (Wilde). …show more content…
The machine may have originated in 1066 but can only be proved to being used from the 1280’s and on (Wilde). John of Dalton is thought to be the first victim of the Halifax Gibbet in the year 1286 (HistoryLearningSite). The Halifax Gibbet was retired on April 30th, 1650 (Wilde). The other machine the guillotine was based on was the Scotish Maiden. The Scotish Maiden was called various names in Edinburgh, such as the Maiden, the Miadin, and the Madin or Madyn. The Maiden, like the Halifax, has two upright beams as part of the main structure. Instead of an axe head like the Halifax, the Maiden just has a steel faced iron blade with seventy-five pounds of lead for weight (Hartley). The Scotish Maiden was used for about 150 years from the year 1564 to the year 1710. In that period of time, it is said that the decapitation machine had over 150 victims (The Guillotine
When woman was in the water “the women usually drowned.” (The Renaissance: Crime and Punishment). Another tool was the amputation saw. And the body would be in terrible pain because “it was used to remove a limb slowly and painfully.” (The Renaissance: Crime and Punishment). Beheading was used for the higher-class people, “because it was considered a more honorable way to die.” (Elizabethan Crime and Punishment).
One of the reasons the Reign of Terror was not justified was because of the brutal methods they used to execute and hurt people. During the French Revolution the guillotine became a powerful image. It was a sharp angled blade that would drop and decapitate the victim(Document F). It was also known as a “humane” way to execute criminals. However when detailed paintings are released showing blood filling the streets of France, and people being beheaded it was difficult for people to believe it was a humane way of killing someone. . In an art piece called “Nine Émigrés go to the Guillotine” shows tons of people watching and interested in someone getting their head chopped off ha. Also this shows that people were fascinated by the gruesome killing
In 1865, Architect John Munroe built the gallows behind the Sidney Street Courthouse in Saint John New Brunswick. Munroe was noted to have said "I wonder who will be the first poor bastard to swing from this?"
Geoffrey Abbott, author of Execution: The Guillotine, the Pendulum, the Thousand Cuts, the Spanish Donkey, and 66 Other Ways of Putting Someone to Death, does a particularly well job explaining and detailing almost every method of execution in the different eras throughout history. He tells of how the people being executed felt and how the executioners felt. He also explains how each execution type was carried out. Executions back in the day were very gruesome, but details on the historical events cannot just be exempted out if you want to explain these hectic methods. Just a few categories covered were: the Axe- this was when a person was put on a wooden block with a space between the neck and then was decapitated. Also there was Bastinado-which was to be beaten with a stick on their feet until they die (by far the weirdest way to execute someone in my opinion.) Also there was the guillotine- when the prisoner was placed on a block and then a heavy blade from above come crashing down on the neck of the prisoner decapitating him (this method of execution was one of the coolest methods.) What is cooler way to go than a huge blade chopping off your head? It is by far one of the quickest and most painless. Another method was Torn Apart by Horses- this is when your arms and legs are tied to a horse and then each horse runs in a separate direction ripping your limbs off. What a way to go. I cannot fathom what it would have been like to be executed like that. Those are just some
In my opinion, and I hope many other opinions, the answer is no. A vast majority of the deaths at this time were the doing of the guillotine. The guillotine was a machine created by Joseph-Ignace Guillotin and was used for executions by beheading. The guillotine was created as a result of the French Revolution. His reign was dreadful and Louis XVI’s horrible kingsmanship lead to the French Revolution, so really the guillotine was created because of King Louis XVI.
Under the pretext of purging enemies of the revolution, the Committee of Public Safety initiated a relentless campaign of arrests, trials, and executions. Historical records indicate that over 16,000 individuals were executed by guillotine during this period, with countless others imprisoned or subjected to violence. This indiscriminate targeting of perceived enemies, including former revolutionaries, moderates, and even innocent civilians, demonstrates the excessive and unjust nature of the Terror.
First hanging execution to Kendall for being a spy for Spain. British law in 1610s routinely handed out the death sentence even for minor crimes like robbery, burglary.
Criminals had their own secret language called “Thieves’ cant” or also referred to as “peddlers French,” it was used by professionals criminals and beggars of all types in all places more commonly European. Criminals used this speech to communicate amongst themselves and often coordinate specific plans they shared amongst one another commonly used in things including coney-catching, gull-groping and gaming tricks. All things considered I actually thought it to be really cool for them to develop such a thing to communicate with one another about specific things. Speaking of criminals working together, professional criminals had their own underworld where they could organize certain crimes and work together. Still commonly used by criminals today, underworlds allowed criminals to plan and organize things amongst other professional criminals that were involved. Again I found this to be very cool and interesting, and i’ve so far learned a lot about the creativeness of criminals in the Elizabethan times, from own language to organizing more professional crimes amongst themselves. Now for something straying away from the whole behind the scenes of criminals, executions everyone's favorite thing’s from the Elizabethan era. To start executioners were usually lumbering brutes with their big heavy axes ready to chop someone’s head clean off, or did they? Executions usually took multiple swings tries between swings and the chance someone's head wouldn’t come off, yes they would have to endure more than one swing. Completely awful and often lead to the need to saw the head in order for it to come clean off of the person, as stated by Elgin, beheading with an axe often lead to misses and the need of sawing. Some nobles got “luckier” and had a swordsman with a sharp blade cut the head off in one clean swoop rather than an axe and need of sawing. In my opinion it sounds terrible to have to need to put
GUILLOTINES During the Reign of Terror, guillotines were commonly used to execute the anti-revolutionaries. A guillotine is a device typically used to behead people; this form of execution provides a quick death. They were often nicknamed as the “National Razor” and gaining the role as becoming a symbol of revolutionary justice. Although, other forms of execution were used during the Reign of Terror.
The Guillotine Throughout history, the quest for the ultimate killing machine has ravaged the lives of many. From crucifixion to the destructive atomic bomb, we as humans, have never been satisfied, always searching for more. One machine in particular, the guillotine, was extremely effective at its job and fulfilled our savage dreams. The Guillotine, created by Joseph-Ignace Guillotin made its debut during a period of revolution and turmoil in France. It quickly became the number one method of execution as it was seen as more humane.
The French developed guillotines during the French Revolution as a more humane way of killing, though it was later discovered that the one being executed was still conscious after the head was separated from the body.
The death penalty is a capital punishment that is put into effect for major crimes. The death penalty is a very controversial topic in the United States and throughout the world. There was a time period were the death penalty was banned for about four years in 1972-1976. Many feel that the death penalty is justice because it is retribution toward criminals who have committed heinous crimes. However the death penalty is inhumane and should be abolished in the United States.
If everything was done correctly, the execution would be finished in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, that was not usually the case, and the deaths were slow and painful. The end results of a hanging consisted of the eyes popping out of their sockets, protruding tongue, bloated face, defecation, and severe jerking of the body and appendages (Descriptions”).
France’s Reign of Terror offered the world a new symbol for execution: the guillotine. Today the electric chair, lethal injection, and firing squad provide the same image. All symbolize death as well as the crime that the perpetrator committed. In 1793 in France, an individual met the guillotine because he or she committed treason by going against the radical ideas of Maximilien Robespierre. In the modern United States, citizens face one of the instruments of capital punishment after they commit murder, treason, or espionage. Though the instruments and charges for capital punishment have changed, the basic principle remains the same. Capital punishment, more harshly known as the death penalty, has become a well-known and controversial part of the United States’ criminal justice system. Ever since societies began to practice the capital punishment, people have tried to abolish the death penalty. The United States, however, should continue to practice the death penalty until it reduces the number of homicides and other serious crimes committed by its citizens to help protect innocent citizens.
Throughout the history of man there has always existed a sort of rule pertaining to retribution for just and unjust acts. For the just came rewards, and for the unjust came punishments. This has been a law as old as time. One philosophy about the treatment of the unjust is most controversial in modern time and throughout our history; which is is the ethical decision of a death penalty. This controversial issue of punishment by death has been going on for centuries. It dates back to as early as 399 B.C.E., to when Socrates was forced to drink hemlock for his “corruption of the youth” and “impiety”.