10 deadly facts about the executioner profession

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The death penalty, around which disputes between human rights defenders and the public are raging today, is a punishment that appeared in ancient times and has survived to this day. In some periods of human history, the death penalty was almost the predominant punishment in the law enforcement system of various states. For reprisals against criminals, executioners were required - tireless and ready to "work" from dawn to dawn. This profession is covered with sinister myths and mysticism. Who is the executioner really?

The executioners did not wear masksMedieval executioners, and even executioners in later periods of history, very rarely hid their faces, so the image of an executioner in a hood mask, rooted in modern culture, has no real basis. Until the end of the 18th century, there were no masks at all. Everyone knew the executioner in his hometown. And the executioner had no reason to hide his identity, because in ancient times no one even thought about revenge on the executor of the sentence. The executioner was seen only as a tool.

The executioners had dynasties “My grandfather was an executioner. My father was an executioner. Now here I am, the executioner. My son and his son will also be executioners,”- probably, this is what any medieval kat could say, answering the question of what influenced his choice of such an“unusual”profession. Traditionally, the position of executioner was inherited. All executioners living in the same region knew each other, and often even were relatives, since executioners often chose the daughters of other executioners, butchers or gravediggers to create families. The reason for this is not at all professional solidarity, but the position of the executioner in society: according to their social status, the executioners were at the city "bottom". In tsarist Russia, the executioners were selected from among the former criminals, who were guaranteed "clothes and food" for this.

The "hangman's curse" really existedIn medieval Europe, there was the concept of "hangman's curse." It had nothing to do with magic or witchcraft, but reflected the view of society on this craft. According to medieval traditions, a person who became an executioner remained with him for life and could not change his profession of his own free will. In case of refusal to fulfill his duties, the executioner was considered a criminal.

The executioners did not pay for purchasesThe executioners were paid little at all times. In Russia, for example, according to the Code of 1649, the executioners' salaries were paid from the sovereign's treasury - "an annual salary of 4 rubles each, from incalculable labial income." However, this was compensated by a kind of "social package". Since the executioner was widely known in his area, he could, when he came to the market, take everything he needed, completely free of charge. In a literal sense, the executioner could eat just like the one he served. However, this tradition arose not out of favor with the executioners, but quite the opposite: not a single merchant wanted to take "bloody" money from the hands of a murderer, but since the state needed the executioner, everyone was obliged to feed him. However, over time, the tradition changed, and a rather funny fact of the inglorious departure from the profession of the French dynasty of executioners Sansons, which existed for more than 150 years, is known. For a long time, no one was executed in Paris, so the executioner Clemont-Henri Sanson sat without money and went into debt. The best thing the executioner came up with was to lay the guillotine. And as soon as he did it, ironically, the "order" immediately appeared. Sanson begged the moneylender to issue the guillotine for a while, but he was unshakable. Clemont-Henri Sanson was fired. And if not for this misunderstanding, then for another century his descendants could have chopped off their heads, because the death penalty in France was abolished only in 1981.

The executioner got the things of the executed There is an opinion that the executioners always removed the boots from the body of the executed, in fact, this is only partly true. According to medieval tradition, the executioner was allowed to take from the corpse everything that was on it below the waist. Over time, the executioners were allowed to take all the property of the criminal.

Executioners moonlighted as exorcistsIn medieval Europe, executioners, like all Christians, were allowed into the church. However, they had to come last to communion, and during the service they had to stand at the very entrance to the temple. However, despite this, they had the right to carry out the wedding ceremony and the rite of exorcism. The churchmen of that time believed that the torment of the body allowed them to cast out demons.

The executioners were selling souvenirsToday it seems incredible, but often the executioners sold souvenirs. And do not indulge yourself in the hope that between executions they were engaged in woodcarving or clay modeling. The executioners traded in alchemical potions and body parts of the executed, their blood and skin. The thing is that, according to medieval alchemists, such reagents and potions had incredible alchemical properties. Others believed that the fragments of the criminal's body were a talisman. The most harmless souvenir is a hanged man's rope, which supposedly brought good luck. It happened that the corpses were secretly ransomed by medieval doctors to study the anatomical structure of the body. Russia, as usual, has its own way: the severed parts of the bodies of "dashing" people were used as a kind of "propaganda". The Tsar's decree of 1663 says: "".

Executioner skill is the main thing in the professionThe executioner's profession was not as simple as it might seem at first glance. In particular, this concerned the decapitation procedure. It was not easy to chop off a man's head with one blow of an ax, and those executioners who could do it on the first try were especially appreciated. Such a requirement for the executioner was put forward not at all out of humanity towards the convict, but because of the spectacle, since executions, as a rule, were of a public nature. They learned the skill from senior comrades. In Russia, the process of training executioners was carried out on a wooden mare. A dummy of a human back made of birch bark was placed on it and the blows were practiced. Many of the executioners had something of a trademark professional technique. It is known that the last British executioner, Albert Pierrepoint, carried out the execution in a record time of 17 seconds.

In Russia, they preferred to chop off legs and armsIn Russia, there were many ways of taking life, and they were very cruel. The criminals were wheeled around, poured molten metal down their throats (as a rule, counterfeiters should have feared this), and hung them up by the ribs. If the wife for some reason decided to lime her husband, she was buried in the ground. She died long and painfully, and compassionate passers-by could leave money for church candles and for funerals. If in Europe executioners had to chop off heads and set fires more often, then in Russia court sentences more often indicated maiming rather than killing. According to the Code of 1649, an arm, hand or fingers were chopped off for theft. It was possible to lose limbs for murder in a drunken brawl, stealing fish from a cage, counterfeiting copper money, and illegally selling vodka.

Modern executioners are not hiding from societyThe modern society, in which the principles of humanism are declared, could not refuse the executioners. Moreover, politicians are often hiding under their guise. For example, in the summer of 2002, Condoleezza Rice, who at that time was the US President's National Security Advisor, personally gave verbal authorization for the use of “waterboarding”, when a person was tied and poured on his face with water, as was done by the terrorist Abu Zubaydah. There is evidence of much more harsh CIA practices.

The most famous executioner of the twentieth century is the Frenchman Fernand Meyssonnier. From 1953 to 1057, he personally executed 200 Algerian rebels. He is 77 years old, he still lives in France, does not hide his past and even receives a pension from the state. Meyssonnier has been in the profession since he was 16, and this is a family thing for them. His father became an executioner because of the "benefits and benefits" provided: the right to have weapons of war, high wages, free travel and tax breaks for maintaining a pub. The instrument of his gloomy work - the model 48 guillotine - he keeps today.

Mohammed Saad al-Beshi is the current Chief Executioner of Saudi Arabia. He is 45 today. "", - says the executioner, who started working in 1998. In no interview did he mention how many executions he had, and what fees he received, but he boasted that the authorities rewarded him with a sword for his high professionalism. The Mohammed sword "keeps it sharp as a razor" and "cleans regularly." By the way, he is already teaching his 22-year-old son the craft.

One of the most famous executioners in the post-Soviet space is Oleg Alkaev, who in the 1990s was the head of the firing squad and headed the pre-trial detention center in Minsk. He not only leads an active social life, but also published a book about his working life, after which he was named a humanist executioner.

Maurice Hysen has nothing to do with the executioners and has not written any books. But the topic of death did not leave him indifferent. He created a photo session dedicated to the death of a person and called it "Die with a smile"