medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
People were hanged with a rope noose in the centre of a city. This could be
a market place, an open area before a church or town hall, or a bridge. A
gallows was erected for the occasion, because this occurred less often then
you think. After the culprit had died he or she usually hung there until
sundown, then was taken down and carried or ridden to a place outside the
town walls or moat where there was a permanent structure like the one at
Montfaucon (although rarely as big) where several corpses could be hung at a
time. These were hung in chains passed under the arms, not with rope. There
he/she hung until the corpse dropped down of it's own accord. Then it was
buried nearby by the town's gallows keeper(s). Mind you; it was not always
done as structured as I wrote here. Family, for instance, could free the
corpse after he died, for a fee, and it would never get to the public
gallows out of town.
I doubt if ecclestical courts had gallows, as they were not allowed to
pronounce death sentences. So gallows in church yards, being church property
and excempt are unlikely.
Henk
-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] Namens Christopher Crockett
Verzonden: woensdag 26 oktober 2011 20:09
Aan: [log in to unmask]
Onderwerp: Re: [M-R] Theft of metal from UK churches
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
From: HenkADSL <[log in to unmask]>
> Most medieval cities had multi persons' gallows outside of the town,
but i've heard the *those* suburban gallows were for "show" only, since ">
Usually, after being hanged, the corpses were moved out of town to the
gallows hill where they hung until they dropped off."
which is it?
> "Long ago, rue de la Grange-aux-Belles, on the north side of the
> Hôpital
St-Louis, was a dusty track leading uphill, past fields, en route to
Germany. Where no. 53 now stands, a path led to the top of a small hillock.
Here, in 1325, on the king's orders, an enormous gallows was built,
consisting of a plinth 6m high, on which stood sixteen stone pillars each
10m high. These were joined by chains, from which malefactors were hanged in
clusters. They were left there until they disintegrated, by way of example,
and they stank so badly that when the wind blew from the northeast they
infected the nostrils of the still far-off city. The practice continued
until the seventeenth century. Bones and other remains from the pit into
which they were thrown were found during the building of a garage in 1954".
may i quote you on that?
c
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