Few things are as ominous as a gallows creaking in the wind - which may explain why so many customs and superstitions sprung up around the scaffold. Let's drop right into...
A Brief History of HangingHanging may have been a common method of execution in the Middle Ages, but the method dates back much further. It appears in Homer's Odyssey (a poem from around 700 BC) and was spread by the Angles, Jutes and Saxons in fifth century Europe - Rome and Britain may have adopted the method thanks to their influence.
The gallows (derived from a Germanic word for pole or branch) was the structure used to hang the condemned. The simplest design resembles an upside-down L-shape, but other versions (such as a T-shaped double gallows) exist. The structure could also serve as a gibbet (a place where the body is kept for public display) though separate, dedicated gibbets also existed.
Early forms of hanging tended to kill via asphyxiation - the rope would cut off air supply, with the victim being slowly strangled to death. This left the awkward possibility of the condemned being revived after their "execution" on occasion!
The "standard drop" introduced in 1866 and the "long drop" of 1872 moved the cause of death to a broken neck. Known as a cervical or hangman's fracture, the condemned were only spared if the gallows malfunctioned. One such man was John ‘Babbacombe’ Lee, an accused murderer who experienced three failed hangings before his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment!
Hangman's RopeIt wasn't just the body of the condemned that held magical significance - the rope itself was said to become empowered by the death, ironically bringing luck and good health to those who carried a length with them.
Though the idea may seem insane to us, the belief that an executed convict could intercede on behalf of people was pretty common in the 19th century. Lockets containing hangman's rope were available to the public - and some executioners were able to run a tidy side-hustle selling portions of the used hemp.
It's said that the idiom "carry a rope in your pocket" alludes to using hangman's rope as a good luck charm while gambling.
The Tyburn TreeA simple stone marker in London is all that remains of the "Tyburn Tree." What's so special about a tree you ask? Well, it wasn't a tree at all, but rather a multi-limbed gallows where public executions were carried out in front of thousands-strong crowds. The device was a triangular scaffold that could hold 24 simultaneously... and by the time it was dismantled, more than 50,000 people had died on that spot.
In the usual English fashion, plenty of nicknames grew up around the device - from the simple "triple tree" to the "the deadly never green Tyburn Tree." The sentence of hanging itself was known as "dancing the Tyburn jig."
- A Brief History of Hanging
- The Hand of Glory
- Hangman's Rope
- The Misadventures of Jack Ketch
- The Tyburn Tree
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| Winter's Gibbet in Northumberland... where the body of William Winter was displayed! (wenzlerdesign) |
A Brief History of HangingHanging may have been a common method of execution in the Middle Ages, but the method dates back much further. It appears in Homer's Odyssey (a poem from around 700 BC) and was spread by the Angles, Jutes and Saxons in fifth century Europe - Rome and Britain may have adopted the method thanks to their influence.
The gallows (derived from a Germanic word for pole or branch) was the structure used to hang the condemned. The simplest design resembles an upside-down L-shape, but other versions (such as a T-shaped double gallows) exist. The structure could also serve as a gibbet (a place where the body is kept for public display) though separate, dedicated gibbets also existed.
Early forms of hanging tended to kill via asphyxiation - the rope would cut off air supply, with the victim being slowly strangled to death. This left the awkward possibility of the condemned being revived after their "execution" on occasion!
The "standard drop" introduced in 1866 and the "long drop" of 1872 moved the cause of death to a broken neck. Known as a cervical or hangman's fracture, the condemned were only spared if the gallows malfunctioned. One such man was John ‘Babbacombe’ Lee, an accused murderer who experienced three failed hangings before his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment!
The Hand of Glory
Quite a bit of folklore built up around the spectacle of a hanging, and one related superstition is the "hand of glory." This talisman was prepared using the (usually right) hand of a hanged criminal, which was thought to continue the misdeeds of life by aiding further crimes.Though the method differs from story to story, preparing a Hand of Glory was always a grim affair. Usually the hand had to be taken while the body still hung on the scaffold, then pickled (one recipe calls for using a mixture of salted human and animal urine, smoking it with herbs and hay for a month... then suspending it from an oak tree, placing it at a crossroads then fixing it to a church door overnight.) Another recipe from the French grimoire Le Petit Albert (1722) calls for the hand to be placed in a jar of saltpeter, salt, long pepper and zimet (cinnamon or spice) for fifteen days then dried in the sun.
The hand would also be fashioned into a candle - either by being folded around a candle of human fat, or by using the fingers as the candles themselves. Lighting the hand would unleash its powers - depending on the legend, it could reveal anyone awake in a residence or prevent sleeping people from being roused. The magic lasted until the flames burnt out or were doused in "blue" (skimmed) milk.
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| Hangman's rope was said to have protective powers... (Sonny Sixteen) |
Hangman's RopeIt wasn't just the body of the condemned that held magical significance - the rope itself was said to become empowered by the death, ironically bringing luck and good health to those who carried a length with them.
Though the idea may seem insane to us, the belief that an executed convict could intercede on behalf of people was pretty common in the 19th century. Lockets containing hangman's rope were available to the public - and some executioners were able to run a tidy side-hustle selling portions of the used hemp.
It's said that the idiom "carry a rope in your pocket" alludes to using hangman's rope as a good luck charm while gambling.
The Misadventures of Jack Ketch
One of the most (in)famous English executioners was Jack Ketch. Operating in the 17th century, Ketch carried out hanging, quartering and beheading (he even went on strike at one point, negotiating the right to sell bits of used rope.) His name even entered English slang - for example, a noose could be called "Jack Ketch’s Necklace."Ketch executed hundreds of people over his 12-year stint, mostly by hanging. Those considered traitors were also quartered, preserved and displayed to the public - Newgate prison actually named the room used to boil the body parts in pitch "Jack Ketch's Kitchen"
Though Ketch hanged hundreds, it was a pair of botched beheadings that stuck in the public mind. It took Ketch three or four swings to decapitate Lord William Russell, leading him to write an apology to the crowd. Worse still was the execution of the Duke of Monmouth. Monmouth had bribed Ketch with six guineas for a clean death, but (through incompetence, spite or a larger bribe from Monmouth's enemies) Ketch attempted the execution with a blunt axe.
The first blow did so little damage that the Duke raised his head off the chopping block to protest. At four swings, Monmouth was still alive and convulsing. More swings and a butcher's knife were required to finish the job - Ketch himself was nearly lynched by the rioting crowd.
Though Ketch hanged hundreds, it was a pair of botched beheadings that stuck in the public mind. It took Ketch three or four swings to decapitate Lord William Russell, leading him to write an apology to the crowd. Worse still was the execution of the Duke of Monmouth. Monmouth had bribed Ketch with six guineas for a clean death, but (through incompetence, spite or a larger bribe from Monmouth's enemies) Ketch attempted the execution with a blunt axe.
The first blow did so little damage that the Duke raised his head off the chopping block to protest. At four swings, Monmouth was still alive and convulsing. More swings and a butcher's knife were required to finish the job - Ketch himself was nearly lynched by the rioting crowd.
Ketch lives on in Punch and Judy puppet shows, acting as a blundering executioner who tries (and fails) to punish Punch for his crimes... ending up on the gallows himself!
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| One for the road? (engin akyurt) |
The Tyburn TreeA simple stone marker in London is all that remains of the "Tyburn Tree." What's so special about a tree you ask? Well, it wasn't a tree at all, but rather a multi-limbed gallows where public executions were carried out in front of thousands-strong crowds. The device was a triangular scaffold that could hold 24 simultaneously... and by the time it was dismantled, more than 50,000 people had died on that spot.
In the usual English fashion, plenty of nicknames grew up around the device - from the simple "triple tree" to the "the deadly never green Tyburn Tree." The sentence of hanging itself was known as "dancing the Tyburn jig."
Something not unlike a ritual built up around hangings at the Tyburn Tree. The condemned stopped at two inns on the journey from Newgate prison, having a drink to steady their nerves. They were allowed to interact with the public somewhat - those who cracked jokes tended to be well thought of by the crowd, as were those who put up a fight against the hangman when the time came.
The condemned were allowed to speak a few words before their death - which were often used to criticize the authorities who condemned them. This tradition still exists in the form of Speaker's Corner, a section of Hyde Park set aside for protests!
The condemned were allowed to speak a few words before their death - which were often used to criticize the authorities who condemned them. This tradition still exists in the form of Speaker's Corner, a section of Hyde Park set aside for protests!
Thanks for reading - and if you want to hang around, try...