| The Church wielded enormous power in the middle ages and did everything in its power to keep that position secure." An ax and block became popular from the 1500s to the 1700s. The ax was very hefty, the cut was forced and the killing was done by crushing. Several strikes were needed. Some beheaded were John Fisher and Lord Russell. The last victim of the ax was Lord Lovat, he died April 8, 1747 at Tower Hill. Also, during this time period swordsmen were used to execute convicts. A swordsman was dressed in a high horn shaped hat, with a tight black suit with a hefty sword. Like the one who executed queen Anne Boleyn. Prisoners hung at Tyburn were held at Newgate Prison in great Britain. Almost twenty four people were hung at a time, thousands were killed in total. The hangings were like fairs. There were a lot of people that came to see the criminal, especially if they were famous. Some 9,000 children died from drinking gin in celebration,. There was just a lot of commotion.There was no pleasure, but the gathering process and occurrences were interesting and fun to others. Executions had risen from hanging to drawing and quartering. Britain's Murder Act of 1752 permitted dead men to be hung by a chain. After this the gibbet was used, it was to make passer-byers fear doing bad things. Some victims of the gibbets were put in metal body cage on top of being exposed to everyone. Death by burning was abolished in Britain in 1790. Before than many people were burned. In 1349 about 2000 Jews were burned in Stratsbourg on St. Valentines Day. Water torture had been a new method of killed. Many people were ducked into water and others were boiled to death. Sometimes water was funneled down a victims throat, it was painful and provided a drowning feeling. Another form of torture was amputation, this was done to ensure hat the punishment for the crime was good enough. Criminals were often branded with their offenses. The pillory provided pain, and public shame to its victim. Most people were whipped, especially children at public schools in England. Some people were put in torture chambers. And some were even pressed to death, heavy weights would be placed on the abdomen causing pain and suffocation. There were about 100,00 deaths because of the witch hunts in Europe. |
Quote: "The church wielded enormous power in the Middle Ages and did everything in its power to keep that position secure"(Kellaway 36).
Reflection: Many innocent people were killed. Not all these victims were criminals, some were innocent people who happened to say the wrong things. All of these punishments were harsh, and now when I think about it the criminals in jail are lucky they have to live in a place funded by the government instead of being harshly punished, tortured or killed.
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