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... takes sever the Dukes head from his body. Ketch had to take a knife, and sever the strip of skin still connecting the head to the torso. After every decapitation it was the executioners duty to pick up the head by the hair, remove the blindfold if necessary, and display it from each corner of the scaffold, shouting, Behold the head of a traitor! So die all traitors! Stocks were perhaps the most widely used punitive device, some also being utilized to secure offenders awaiting trial.
Portrayed in Anglo-Saxon books, Stocks were in constant use for many centuries, changing little in design. They were of simple construction, consisting of two sturdy uprights fixed in the ground, having grooves down their inner surfaces in which were slotted two solid timber boards, one above the other. Each plank had semicircular notches in it, positioned so that when aligned with the other, the notches formed holes which encircled the culprits ankles. With the upper plank locked in position with a padlock, there was no escape for the victim until he or she was released by the appointed official. (Abbott, 149) Situated as they were in the centre of the village, the unhappy occupant of the stocks was inevitably the focus of attention. They became targets for jibes and taunts, if nothing more injurious, the victims could do little to retaliate, or even defend themselves. This of course was the whole purpose of the punishment, literally to make a laughing-stock of them by exposure to the scorn and opprobrium of the others in the community. (Peters, 35) In an age when there was little or no entertainment as we know it, and poverty and disease made life cheap, an execution anywhere in the country was a diversion to look forward to.
A wide range of offenses, from shoplifting to murder, carried the death penalty. In earlier days London boasted to have the best hangings. The vast majority of the criminals were hanged at Tyburn. Tyburn fields originally consisted of 270 acres of rough ground It is estimated that over 50, 000 people died a violent death at Tyburn. In the early part of the 12 th century the gallows, used for hanging, consisted merely of two uprights and a crossbeam, capable of accommodating ten victims at a time. Once the victim arrived, at Tyburn, the doomed men and women were forced to mount a ladder and the rope about their necks was tied to the beam above.
After a prayer or a speech, one by one they would be the ladder would be kicked out from under them so that they swung in the empty air. (Hanging, 4) In course the procedure was speeded up by the use of a horse and cart, one large enough to transport a number of prisoners together with their coffins. The English language was thereby enriched by such phrases as in the cart and gone west, the direction of Tyburn from the two places of imprisonment. (Hanging, 1) Even though the process of hanging was speeded up, the effectiveness was brought down. Many times a victim didnt die by the snapping of the neck, but by the strangulation which was very tormenting to the victim. (Davis, 112) At a more domestic level, and years away from barbaric religious tribunals and torture chambers, the Ducking stool its place in the life of many villages. Innocuous as the words may sound, nevertheless its name sent shivers down the spines of nagging wives, shrews, harlots, strumpets and, rarely, dishonest tradesmen. The device took many forms, and was governed by deciding factors as whether the village had a deep river nearby, a muddy scream with or with out a bridge, or just a pond. (Abbott, 116) In its simplest form, a chair or stool was fixed to one end of a long pole, which was either pivoted on a support, or manhandled by a number of people.
Sometimes it was mounted on a wheeled trolley, when it was known as the tree bucket. The victim was strapped in the seat, and then lowered into water, generally a muddy or stinking pond. The process could be repeated several times, until the victim, spluttering furiously; was nearly drowned and, on at least one occasion, the outcome was death. (Innes, 137 - 138) Such rural punishments gave rise to many a ribald verse. One, composed by Benjamin There stands, my friend, in yonder pool, Away, you cry, youll grace the stool, Well teach you how your tongue to rule. Down in the deep the stool descends, And, rather than your patience lose No brawling wives, no furious wenches, No fire so hot water quenches. (Abbott, 119 - 120) We are to understand that torture is a pretty usual part of criminal proceedings, unless the defendant is a noble whose alleged crime does not touch the safety of the state.
It is also true that wise men have discouraged the practice, which Pope Nicholas I did in AD 866. When he wrote A confession must be voluntary and not forced, by means of torture an innocent man may avowal in such a case what a crime for the judge! Or a person may be subdued by pain, and acknowledge himself guilty, though he be innocent which throws an equally great sin upon the tribunal! (Abbott, 166) The official justification for torture has always been the need to obtain information: from a criminal concerning the extent of his crimes, and the names of his accomplices; from a prisoner taken in war, who may have knowledge of his generals intentions; from heretic who can be persuaded to confess his beliefs and implicate others; or from a terrorist whose actions can endanger dozens maybe hundreds of innocent lives. Sadly, the application of torture in such instances in itself is inexcusable, has been over shadowed by the fact that it is regarded also as a punishment. The inevitable outcome is that the trade of torturer has attracted only the most sadistic of human beings, and that the use of torture has moved away from any practical need to obtain information, or impose a legal penalty for wrongdoing, to allow the more powerful to enjoy the pleasure of inflicting random pain upon the less fortunate. (Innes, 7 - 9) Anyway you look at it torture is just a vile and depraved invasion of the rights and dignity of an individual, a crime against humanity for which there can be no possible justification. Bibliography: Press.
Abbott, G. (1997). Rack, Rope And Red- Hot Pincers. Great britain: B rockhampton Beheadings (1999). [ 1 / 12 / 00 ], web Davis, W. S. (1951). Life on a Mediaeval Barony. New York: Harper and Row Death by Hanging (1999) [ 1 / 12 / 00 ], web Innes, B. (1998).
The History of Torture. New York: St. Martins Press. Peters, E. (1985). Torture; expanded edition. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
The Tower of London. [ 1 / 13 / 00 ], web
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