A Short History of the Executioner (2014) | Hacker News Reader

A Short History of the Executioner (2014)

theappendix.net

44 pointslermontov9 comments

Hardcore History’s latest podcast is one about capital punishment through the ages. He touches on some of the stigma or awe these persons were given.

It’s not for everyone as Dan is very descriptive.

https://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/

Thank you so much for the heads up! I love HH and have been sorely missing a new episode.

>executioners only entered the city to perform tasks relating to their office. Those entailed the duties, of course, of torturing or killing the condemned, but they also included a variety of basses oeuvres with peculiar perks, such as the exclusive right to clean cesspools (and any valuables contained therein), the right to claim stray animals

reminded - some [or is it everybody's job duty?] animal control employees do put to death all those cats and dogs. When i see an animal control it causes very mixed feelings as i hope that i'm looking at a good person who does his/her best and/or doesn't know better while s/he really may be just a typical executioner and even a sadist enjoying the job and power over his/her victims.

I get what you're saying about Animal Control, but you may be overlooking one of the kindest things they do - keep your lost pet in safe area until you find it.

It seemed that there was a past where every town and village would have an executioner or hangman. I did not know they were outcasts though, with a system for that.

The funniest is the American guy who did the Germans at Nuremberg, he blagged the job and probably botched it really, making those poor Germans have even more misery than afforded by a clean execution. He was not from any genuine background of family profession.

I did not know they were outcasts though, with a system for that.

Indeed, in La Reine Margot[0], one of the protagonists escapes the brodequin[1] by simply having shaken the executioner's hand in the past:

     Monsieur, dit Caboche, vous êtes le seul gentilhomme
     qui m'ait donné la main, et l'on a de la mémoire et un
     coeur, tout bourreau qu'on est, et peut- être même 
     parce qu'on est bourreau. Vous verrez demain comme je 
     ferai proprement ma besogne.

His more socially selective friend was not so fortunate.

[0] http://www.dumaspere.com/pages/bibliotheque/chapitre.php?lid...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brodequin_(torture)

Pierrepoint travelled to a America at some point, (not sure whether this was pre, or post WWII) - and was very scathing of their systems in his autobiography. I don't know the numbers, but he certainly hanged a lot of "the Germans at Nuremberg".

Eh?

Poor choice of words? I know you meant well, but the wording just looks bad.

Sigh... Got all excited to read an article about Mack Bolan. Oh well...

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