The death penalty, around which disputes between human rights defenders and the public are raging today, is a punishment that appeared in ancient times and has survived to this day. In some periods of human history, the death penalty was almost the predominant punishment in the law enforcement system of various states.
To punish criminals, executioners were required - tireless and ready to "work" from dawn to dawn. This profession is fanned with sinister myths and mysticism.
Who is the executioner really?
In the early Middle Ages, the court was ruled by a feudal lord or his representative, relying on local traditions. Initially, the punishment was to be carried out by the judges themselves or their assistants (bailiffs), victims, people who were accidentally hired, etc. The basis of the inquiry was the questioning of witnesses. Controversial issues were resolved with the help of the ordeal system (“God's judgment”), when a person seemed to surrender to the will of God. This was achieved by conducting a duel, according to the principle "who won is right." Either the prosecutor and the suspect themselves, or their representatives (relatives, hired, etc.)
Another form of ordeal was physical testing, for example, holding a red-hot metal in your hand or dipping your hand into boiling water. Later, according to the number and degree of burns, the judge determined the will of God.
It is clear that such a court was not very fair.
With the strengthening of central government and the development of cities where local power was exercised by elected authorities, a system of more professional courts emerged.
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With the development of legal proceedings, penalties also become more complicated. Along with old forms of punishment such as wergeld (fine) and simple execution, new ones are emerging. This is scourging, branding, cutting off limbs, wheeling, etc … A certain role was played by the fact that in some places the idea of "an eye for an eye" was preserved, that is, if a person caused any bodily injury, for example, if a criminal broke the injured arm, then he also needed to break his arm.
Now a specialist was needed who could carry out the punishment procedure, and so that the convicted person would not die, if he was sentenced only to punishment, or before all the torture prescribed by the court was carried out.
As before, it was necessary to conduct interrogation procedures, forcing the suspect to testify, but at the same time to prevent loss of consciousness and especially the death of the suspect during interrogation.
The first mentions of the executioner's office are found in documents from the 13th century. But the monopoly on the execution of sentences was established for him only in the 16th century. Before that, the sentence could be carried out, as before, by other people.
The executioner's profession was not as simple as it might seem at first glance. In particular, this concerned the decapitation procedure. It was not easy to cut off a man's head with one blow of an ax, and those executioners who could do it on the first try were especially appreciated. Such a requirement for the executioner was put forward not at all out of humanity towards the convict, but because of the spectacle, since executions, as a rule, were of a public nature. They learned the skill from senior comrades. In Russia, the process of training executioners was carried out on a wooden mare. A dummy of a human back made of birch bark was placed on it and the blows were practiced. Many of the executioners had something of a trademark professional technique. It is known that the last British executioner, Albert Pierrepoint, carried out the execution in a record time - 17 seconds.
Executioner's position
Officially, the work of an executioner was considered the same profession as any other. The executioner was considered an employee, more often a city one, but sometimes he could be in the service of some feudal lord.
He was responsible for the execution of various court sentences and torture. It should be noted that the executioner was precisely the performer. He could not voluntarily carry out the torture. Usually a representative of the court supervised his actions.
The executioner received a salary, sometimes the house where he lived. In some cases, the executioners, like other employees, were paid for uniforms. Sometimes this was the general uniform of city employees, sometimes it was a special dress that emphasized its importance. Most of the tools (rack, other devices, etc.) were paid for and belonged to the city. The symbol of the executioner (in France) was a special sword with a rounded blade, intended only for chopping off heads. In Russia - a whip.
The mask that is so often shown in the movies was usually not worn by the real executioner. The mask was on the executioner during the execution of the English king of England Charles the 1st, but this was an isolated case. Medieval executioners, and even executioners in later periods of history, very rarely hid their faces, so the image of an executioner in a hood mask, rooted in modern culture, has no real basis. Until the end of the 18th century, there were no masks at all. Everyone knew the executioner in his hometown. And the executioner had no reason to hide his identity, because in ancient times no one even thought of revenge on the executor of the sentence. The executioner was seen only as a tool.
Usually, the position of executioner was occupied either by inheritance or under threat of criminal prosecution.
There was a practice that a convicted person could receive an amnesty if he agreed to become an executioner. For this, it is necessary that the place of the executioner was vacant, and not all convicts could be offered such a choice.
Before becoming an executioner, the applicant had to work for a long time as an apprentice. The applicant must have had considerable physical strength and considerable knowledge of the human body. To prove his skill, the candidate, as well as in other medieval professions, had to perform a “masterpiece”, that is, to fulfill his duties under the supervision of elders. If the executioner retired, he was obliged to offer the city a candidate for his post.
Sometimes, in addition to the executioner, there were other related positions. So, in Paris, in addition to the executioner himself, the team included his assistant, who was responsible for torture, and a carpenter who was specially involved in the construction of the scaffold, etc.
Although the executioner was considered an ordinary employee by law, the attitude towards him was appropriate. True, he could often make good money.
The executioners were paid little at all times. In Russia, for example, according to the Code of 1649, the executioners' salary was paid from the sovereign's treasury - "an annual salary of 4 rubles each, from incalculable lipid income." However, this was compensated by a kind of "social package". Since the executioner was widely known in his area, he could, coming to the market, take whatever he needed, completely free of charge. In a literal sense, the executioner could eat the same as the one he served. However, this tradition arose not out of favor with the executioners, but quite the opposite: not a single merchant wanted to take "bloody" money from the hands of a murderer, but since the state needed the executioner, everyone was obliged to feed him.
However, over time, the tradition has changed, and a rather funny fact of the inglorious departure from the profession of the French dynasty of executioners Sansons, which existed for more than 150 years, is known. For a long time, no one was executed in Paris, so the executioner Clemont-Henri Sanson was without money and went into debt. The best thing the executioner came up with was to lay the guillotine. And as soon as he did it, ironically, the "order" immediately appeared. Sanson begged the moneylender to issue the guillotine for a while, but he was unshakable. Clemont-Henri Sanson was fired. And if not for this misunderstanding, then for another century his descendants could have chopped off their heads, because the death penalty in France was abolished only in 1981.
But the job of an executioner was considered an extremely low-profile occupation. In terms of his position, he was close to such lower strata of society as prostitutes, actors, etc. … Even accidentally contact with the executioner was unpleasant. That is why the executioner often had to wear a uniform of a special cut and / or color (blue in Paris).
For a nobleman, the very fact of traveling in the executioner's cart was considered offensive. Even if the convict was released on the block, the very fact that he rode in the executioner's cart caused great damage to his honor.
There is a known case when an executioner, calling himself a city employee, was received in the house of a noblewoman. Later, after learning who he was, she sued him because she felt offended. And although she lost the trial, the very fact is very indicative.
On another occasion, a group of drunken young nobles, hearing that music was playing in the house they were passing by, broke in. But when they learned that they were at the executioner's wedding, they were very embarrassed. Only one stayed and even asked to show him the sword. Therefore, the executioners usually communicated and married in a circle of professions close to them in terms of position - gravediggers, knackers, etc. This is how whole dynasties of executioners arose.
The executioner often risked being beaten. This threat grew outside the city's borders or during the period of large fairs, when many random people appeared in the city who could not be afraid of persecution by local authorities.
In many regions of Germany, there was a rule that if someone, for example, the municipality of a small town, hired an executioner, he was obliged to provide him with security and even make a special deposit. There were times when the executioners were killed. This could have been done by both the crowd dissatisfied with the execution and the criminals.
Execution of Emelyan Pugachev
Additional earnings
Since the executioner was considered a city employee, he received a fixed payment at a rate set by the authorities. In addition, all things that were worn from the victim's belt and below were given to the executioner. Later, all clothes began to be transferred to him. Since executions were carried out mainly on specially announced days, the rest of the time of work, and, consequently, of earnings, the executioner did not have so much. Sometimes the city executioner went to neighboring small towns to carry out his functions at the request of the local authorities. But this also did not happen often.
To give the executioner the opportunity to earn money and not pay him for downtime, other functions were often assigned to him. Which one exactly depended on both local traditions and the size of the city.
Among them, the most common were the following.
First, the executioner usually supervised urban prostitutes, naturally collecting a fixed fee from them. That is, he was the owner of a brothel, who was also responsible for the behavior of prostitutes before the city authorities. This practice was very common until the 15th century, but later it was gradually abandoned.
Second, he was sometimes responsible for cleaning public latrines, doing the work of a goldsmith. These functions were assigned to them in many cities until the end of the 18th century.
Thirdly, he could perform the work of a flayer, that is, he was engaged in catching stray dogs, removed carrion from the city and drove out lepers. Interestingly, if there were professional flayers in the city, they were often required to act as assistants to the executioner. Over time and the growth of cities, the executioner had more and more work, and he gradually got rid of additional functions.
Along with these works, the executioner often provided other services to the population. He traded in corpse parts and drugs made from them, as well as various details related to the execution. Things like the "hand of glory" (a hand chopped off from the criminal) and the piece of rope on which the criminal was hanged are often mentioned in various books on magic and alchemy of the time.
Often, the executioner acted as a doctor. It should be noted that by the nature of his activity, the executioner must be well versed in human anatomy. Moreover, unlike doctors of that time, he had free access to corpses. Therefore, he was well versed in various injuries and illnesses. The executioners' reputation for being good healers was well known. So Catherine II mentions that in her youth the Danzing executioner healed her spine, that is, he performed the work of a chiropractor. Sometimes the executioner acted as an exorcist, capable of inflicting pain on the body, expelling the evil spirit that possessed him. The fact is that torture was considered one of the most reliable ways to expel an evil spirit that took possession of the body. By inflicting pain on the body, people seemed to torture the demon, forcing him to leave this body.
In medieval Europe, executioners, like all Christians, were allowed into the church. However, they had to come to communion last, and during the service they had to stand at the very entrance to the temple. However, despite this, they had the right to conduct a wedding ceremony and an exorcism ceremony. The churchmen of that time believed that the torment of the body allowed them to cast out demons.
Today it seems incredible, but the executioners often sold souvenirs. And do not indulge yourself in the hope that between executions they were engaged in woodcarving or modeling from clay. The executioners traded in alchemical potions and body parts of the executed, their blood and skin. The thing is that, according to medieval alchemists, such reagents and potions had incredible alchemical properties. Others believed that the fragments of the criminal's body were a talisman. The most harmless souvenir is the hanged man's rope, which supposedly brought good luck. It happened that the corpses were secretly ransomed by medieval doctors to study the anatomical structure of the body.
Russia, as usual, has its own way: the severed parts of the bodies of the "dashing" people were used as a kind of "propaganda". The Tsar's decree of 1663 says: “Cut off arms and legs near highways, nail them to trees, and write guilt and stick on the same hands and feet that those feet and hands are thieves and robbers and were cut off from them for theft, for robbery and for murder … so that people of all ranks know about their crimes."
There was a concept as "the executioner's curse." It had nothing to do with magic or witchcraft, but reflected the view of society on this craft. According to medieval traditions, a person who became an executioner remained with him for life and could not change his profession of his own free will. In case of refusal to fulfill his duties, the executioner was considered a criminal.
The most famous executioner of the 20th century is the Frenchman Fernand Meyssonnier. From 1953 to 1057, he personally executed 200 Algerian rebels. He is 77 years old, he still lives in France, does not hide his past and even receives a pension from the state. Meyssonnier has been in the profession since he was 16, and this is a family thing. His father became an executioner because of the "benefits and benefits" provided: the right to have weapons of war, high wages, free travel and tax breaks for maintaining a pub. The instrument of his gloomy work - the model 48 guillotine - he keeps today.
Until 2008, he lived in France, received a state pension and did not hide his past. When asked why he became an executioner, Fernand replied that it was not at all because his father was the executioner, but because the executioner has a special social status, a high salary. Free travel around the country, the right to have military weapons, as well as tax benefits when doing business.
Fernand Meyssonnier - the most famous executioner of the twentieth century and a document proving his identity
"Sometimes they tell me:" How much courage it takes to execute people on the guillotine. " But this is not courage, but self-control. Self-confidence should be one hundred percent.
When the condemned were taken out into the prison yard, they immediately saw the guillotine. Some held up courageously, others fell unconscious or urinated in their pants.
I climbed right under the knife of the guillotine, grabbed the client by the head and pulled on me. If at that moment my father had accidentally lowered the knife, I would have been cut in half. When I pressed the client's head against the stand, my father lowered a special wooden device with a semicircular cut to hold the head in position. Then you push yourself more, grab the client by the ears, pull your head towards you and shout: "Vas-y mon pere!" ("Come on, father!"). If you delay, the client had time to react somehow: he turned his head to one side, bit my hands. Or pulled out his head. Here I had to be careful - the knife sank very close to my fingers. Some prisoners shouted: "Allahu Akbar!" For the first time, I remember thinking: "So fast!" Then I got used to it."
“I was the punishing hand of Justice and I am proud of it,” he writes in his book. And no remorse or nightmares. The instrument of his craft - the guillotine - he kept until his death, exhibited it in his own museum near Avignon and sometimes traveled with her to different countries:
“For me, the guillotine is like an expensive Ferrari for a car collector. I could sell and provide myself with a calm and well-fed life."
But Meyssonnier did not sell the guillotine, although the "Model 48" cut, according to him, badly, and he had to "help with his hands." The executioner pulled the head of the doomed forward by the ears, because "the criminals pulled her into the shoulders and the execution did not really work."
Disassembly of the guillotine on the territory of the prison after the execution. The last execution in France was carried out in 1977
Public execution. Public execution in France existed until 1939
Nevertheless, they write that Fernand was a kind fellow, a fan of ballet and opera, a lover of history and a champion of justice, and in general he was kind to criminals.
Both father and son have always followed the same principle: to do their job cleanly and as quickly as possible, so as not to prolong the already unbearable suffering of those sentenced. Fernand argued that the guillotine is the most painless execution. After retirement, he also released his memories, thanks to which he is also quite a famous person.
Mohammed Saad al-Beshi is the current Chief Executioner of Saudi Arabia. He is 45 today. “It doesn't matter how many orders I have for the day: two, four or ten. I am fulfilling God's mission and therefore I do not know how tired I am,”says the executioner, who started working in 1998. In no interview did he say how many executions he had on his account, and what fees he received, but he boasted that the authorities awarded him with a sword for his high professionalism. Mohammed's sword "keeps it sharp as a razor" and "cleans regularly." By the way, he is already teaching his 22-year-old son the craft.
One of the most famous executioners in the post-Soviet space is Oleg Alkaev, who in the 1990s was the head of the firing squad and headed the pre-trial detention center in Minsk. He not only leads an active social life, but also published a book about his working life, after which he was named a humanist executioner.