Punishment in France

By Andrew Follmann

Torture

• Torture was seen for a long time as a viable way to extract information and to punish the condemned.

• Three main methods of torture were: humiliating torture, torture meant only to inflict pain, and torture meant to kill a person.

Humiliation

• The Brank (Scold’s Bridle)

• Pillory

• Burning the Dead

• Galley Rowers

The Brank

• Humiliating and uncomfortable

• Used exclusively women who were a ‘public nuisance’

• Prevented speaking

The Pillory

• Placed in public places• Laughed and jeered at

by passersby• Encased the head and

hands

Burning the Dead

• Often as a means of final humiliation for the accused, the executioner was to burn the bodies of those who died of natural causes before they could be executed.

Galley Rowers

• This punishment acted as a type of slavery, as the criminal was sentenced to a life at sea to row the boats of war.

• Punishments were for deserting were to sever the nose and cut off the ears of the deserter and force him to immediately resume working.

Pain

• Most common method of torture, used for extracting information and to punish the condemned.

• Iron Balls Torture• Thumbscrews• Water Torture• Dislocation• The Brodequins

Iron Balls Torture

• Ordinary and Extraordinary torture• Ordinary: Hang the accused by the wrists,

with a heavy iron ball at each foot.• Extraordinary: The criminal’s body was in

the middle of a room, with all four limbs stretched in opposite directions, the accused had to support his body weight because of a sharp stake underneath him.

Thumbscrews

• Fingers and toes put in. They are slowly crushed.

• Popular because it is portable.

Water Torture

• Subject is force fed 4 gallons of water.

• If you don’t drink the water you will drown.

• If you do, then you will have your stomach burst.

Dislocation

• Ordinary: Lifted to the center of the room with 180lbs fastened to his feet

• Extraordinary: Lifted to ceiling with 250lbs attached to feet. Let down with short jerks, dislocating both arms and both legs.

The Brodequins

• Wood binds victims legs together, wedges hammered between, legs crushed.

Execution

• This method was used to kill someone in the most painful manor possible.

• Methods include: Quartering and Burning.

Before Execution

• Before the condemned are executed they must say that they falsely said or did something against the king or challenged someone’s honor.

• He also had to confess his sins to God and man.

Executioner

• The Executioners job came with a price. Often they were forbidden to live within the precincts of the city, and in sometimes had to wear a yellow or red coat.

• This job was not all bad, some perks were that he could take a handful of grain from each load of that entered the market. He also benefited from several taxes and fines.

Quartering (Before)

• Seen by many as the most horrendous form of torture.

• Before quartering the prisoner had his hand cut off, and the stump was burnt in a pot of boiling sulfur. His arms, breasts or thighs were mutilated with red hot pincers, and burning oil or molten lead were poured into his wounds.

Quartering

• First a four ropes were fastened to the criminals limbs, and each rope was attached to a horse. The horses moved in short quick jerks meant to dislocate and cause extreme pain to the victim.

• After hours of this, the torturers ordered the horses to all pull at the same time to rip the limps apart from the body.

• Then the limbs were retreived and placed next to the stump of a body which still showed signs of life, and it was all burned together.

Burning Alive

• Very common method of execution.

• Tied to a stake surrounded by sticks and straw.