by the sword or the axe
Decapitation ( or beheading ) by the sword was largely used in Europe until 1850 . The condemned had to kneel down and the executioner used a horizontal blow of the sword to cut his head off . This capital punishment was reserved to noblemen or persons belonging to the upper class . This was perhaps due to a remainder of the customs in ancient Rome , where condemned criminals only were subjected to decapitation if they claimed ( and proved ) to be a citizen of Rome ( " Civis romanus sum !") Otherwise they had to endure crucifixion or other more painful ways to be executed .
Decapitation of a woman sitting in a chair
This method was used in Germany
Some countries used the axe for decapitation . Here the
condemned had to lay his head on a wooden block and the executioner
tried ( not always successfully ) to chop it off with one blow !
These executions were mostly public and always attracted a large crowd , who had a very critical eye upon the abilities of the executioner . If the decapitation was not done properly, it could happen for the unfortunate executioner to be lynched by an angry mob.
In the 19th century most european countries abandoned these bloody
and messy practices
and installed other types of executions .
In Germany it depended on the different "Länder" : those
regions who were under french occupation during the Revolution adopted
the guillotine very early ( 1800 -1818 ) ,
others like Bavaria in the year 1854 .
In Berlin the decapitation with the axe remained in application until 1938, when the guillotine and hanging became the only legal means of execution.
One of the last famous executions in this medieval manner were
those of the Baroness Benita von Falkenhayn and her friend Renate
von Natzner , who were accused of spying and beheaded with the axe by the
executioner Karl Groepler at the Berlin-Plötzensee - Prison on 18th
february 1935 !
Renate von Natzner
Benita von Falkenhayn
In Sweden all the executions were carried out with the axe
and the guillotine was installed very lately in 1903 !
If you believe this kind of capital punishment is medieval and completely
out of fashion , have a look at this Associated Press article describing
the practices still used in Saudi-Arabia :
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The condemned are blindfolded and have their hands manacled behind
their backs. They are forced to kneel down in front of gutters made to
take in the blood.
The executioner pokes his victim in the spine to force the victim to crane his neck. He then brings his sword down in a backhanded arc that cleanly separates the head from the body. Twenty-nine men and one woman have been beheaded in the kingdom in 1996 The rate of executions in Saudi Arabia has slowed since 1995, when a record 192 people were beheaded.
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| Saudi Arabia (1977) -
Ritual execution by decapitation
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In May 1980, the American TV network PBS broadcast scenes from a documentary by the British cameraman Anthony Thomas. It was titled "The Death of a Princess" and showed the public execution by decapitation of a Saudi Arabian princess and her lover. A month earlier, the showing of the same film on British TV had led to a crisis in diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Britain. In the US, goverment pressure (Warren Christopher then State Secretary ) "appealed" to the network) and Exxon withdrew their advertisments causing PBS to cancel further broadcasts. It is up to each one of us to draw our own conclusions... the 21st century is just round the corner.. |
