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| The victim's will suffer horrendous pain |
Hanging, drawning and
quartering, at its most simple, could be seen as a means to an end: a way of
producing the most bloody and visible death possible. And yet, under that first
simplistic layer, there are other interpretations which throw a little more
light onto the importance of the various acts. It must be remembered that the
people of the 14th century were immersed, through the dominance of the church,
in a culture of symbolism and ritual: for example, the practice of heraldic
display included much symbolism that was tied up with rank and status.
Once there,
the prisoners were hanged in the normal way in example without a drop to ensure
that the neck was not broke but cut down whilst still conscious. The penis and
testicles were cut off and the stomach was slit open. The intestines and heart
were removed and burned before them. The other organs were torn out and finally
the head was cut off and the body divided into four quarters. The head and
quarters were parboiled to prevent them rotting too quickly and then displayed
upon the city gates as a grim warning to all.
Various Englishman received
such a sentence, including over 100 Catholic martyrs for the "spiritual
treason" of refusing to recognize the authority of the Anglican Church.
Some of the more famous cases are listed below.
1) Prince
David of Wales
2) Sir William
Wallace
3) English
Tudors
4)
William Collingbourne
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