A death sentence was the common punishment for nearly 200 crimes in the middle ages. The death penalty was often accompanied by torture and public shaming in order to prolong the punishment and agony. Prior to the execution the accused was usually imprisoned in a small cell to further their suffering. If the accused would not confess to the crime they were pressed in which they were slowly crushed under heavy stones. Despite the variety and creativity of the torture methods during the time period, the method of execution was often dictated by social class and gender. Members of the upper class were beheaded which was the quickest and least painful of the options. For the lower classes, men were hanged and women were burned over a pyre. A rope was tied around a woman's neck so when the flames reached her body she could be strangled to death first. However, this often didn't work and the woman ended up burning alive anyway (Reggio). The picture in the header above depicts another common form of execution in which the four limbs were tied to four different horses who were simultaneously run in opposite directions. This resulted in the joints being painfully ripped from their sockets.
"Yet for all that, there is no reason to believe you are worse off than I. I don't believe that, for it seems to me you can go anywhere you want, while I am imprisoned. And here is the fate reserved for me: tomorrow I shall be taken and sentenced to death." -Lunete, "The Knight with the Lion" In the story Lunete is charged with committing treason against her lady, a high crime at that time. Often times, a court would not convict a person if they found the punishment to severe for the crime. Treason, however, was always seen as worthy of death. Lunete, being a servant, would have been burned over a fire as depicted in the picture above.
|