A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with a pillory at the bottom of the frame, holding the position of the neck directly below the blade. The blade is then released, swiftly and forcefully decapitating the victim with a single, clean pass; the head falls into a basket or other receptacle below.
Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the involuntary functions that are needed for the body to function. The term beheading refers to the act of deliberately decapitating a person, either as a means of murder or as an execution; it may be performed with an axe, sword, or knife, or by mechanical means such as a guillotine. An executioner who carries out executions by beheading is sometimes called a headsman. Accidental decapitation can be the result of an explosion, a car or industrial accident, improperly administered execution by hanging or other violent injury. The national laws of Saudi Arabia and Yemen permit beheading. Under Sharia, which exclusively applies to Muslims, beheading is also a legal punishment in Zamfara State, Nigeria. In practice, Saudi Arabia is the only country that continues to behead its offenders regularly as a punishment for capital crimes. Cases of decapitation by suicidal hanging, suicide by train decapitation and by guillotine are known.
The breaking wheel, also known as the execution wheel, the Wheel of Catherine or the (Saint) Catherine('s) Wheel, was a torture method used for public execution primarily in Europe from antiquity through the Middle Ages up to the 19th century by breaking the bones of a criminal or bludgeoning them to death. The practice was abolished in Bavaria in 1813 and in the Electorate of Hesse in 1836: the last known execution by the "Wheel" took place in Prussia in 1841. In the Holy Roman Empire it was a "mirror punishment" for highwaymen and street thieves, and was set out in the Sachsenspiegel for murder, and arson that resulted in fatalities.
James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton was a Scottish nobleman. He played a leading role in the murders of Queen Mary's confidant, David Rizzio, and king consort Henry Darnley. He was the last of the four regents of Scotland during the minority of James VI. He was in some ways the most successful of the four since he won the civil war that had been dragging on with the supporters of the exiled Mary, Queen of Scots. However, he came to an unfortunate end, executed by means of the Maiden, a predecessor of the guillotine.
Giovanni Battista Bugatti (1779–1869) was the official executioner for the Papal States from 1796 to 1864. He was the longest-serving executioner in the States and was nicknamed Mastro Titta, a Roman corruption of maestro di giustizia, or master of justice. At the age of 85, he was retired by Pope Pius IX with a monthly pension of 30 scudi.
John Erskine, 1st Earl of Mar was a Scottish aristocrat and politician. He was the custodian of the infant James VI of Scotland and Regent of Scotland.
Cardoness Castle is a well-preserved 15th-century tower house just south west of Gatehouse of Fleet, in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Scotland. It was originally owned by the MacCullochs of Myreton. They abandoned the castle in the late 17th century, following the execution of Sir Godfrey McCulloch for the murder of a Clan Gordon neighbour. It is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland, and is a scheduled monument.
Sir Godfrey McCulloch, 2nd Baronet of Myretoun was a Scottish politician who was executed for murder.
Charles-Henri Sanson, full title Chevalier Charles-Henri Sanson de Longval, was the royal executioner of France during the reign of King Louis XVI, as well as high executioner of the First French Republic. He administered capital punishment in the city of Paris for over forty years. By his own hand he executed nearly 3,000 people, including Robert-François Damiens, who attempted to assassinate King Louis XV. Sanson would later execute King Louis XVI.
The Canongate is a street and associated district in central Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The street forms the main eastern length of the Royal Mile while the district is the main eastern section of Edinburgh's Old Town.
The Halifax Gibbet was an early guillotine used in the town of Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Estimated to have been installed during the 16th century, it was used as an alternative to beheading by axe or sword. Halifax was once part of the Manor of Wakefield, where ancient custom and law gave the Lord of the Manor the authority to execute summarily by decapitation any thief caught with stolen goods to the value of 131⁄2d or more, or who confessed to having stolen goods of at least that value. Decapitation was a fairly common method of execution in England, but Halifax was unusual in two respects: it employed a guillotine-like machine that appears to have been unique in the country, and it continued to decapitate petty criminals until the mid-17th century.
Jamie Macpherson also known as James Macpherson was a Scottish outlaw, famed for his poetic work commonly called "Macpherson's Lament" said to have been composed by him on the eve of his execution. "Macpherson's Lament" is known also as "Macpherson's Rant" or "Macpherson's Farewell".
An executioner's sword is a sword designed specifically for decapitation of condemned criminals. These swords were intended for two-handed use, but were lacking a point, so that their overall blade length was typically that of a single-handed sword. The quillons were quite short, and mainly straight, and the pommel was often pear-shaped or faceted.
Anatole François Joseph Deibler was a French executioner who is considered one of the most famous executioners in French history. This is due to the fact that most of his executions, and the cases tied to them, were of great public interest due to widespread reporting by media. The advent of the camera made him somewhat of a celebrity. First beginning executioner training at age 22, he served as Monsieur de Paris from 1899 until his death in 1939. During his 54-year career, he participated in the execution of 395 criminals.
John Maxwell, 9th Lord Maxwell was a Scottish Catholic nobleman. He escaped from Edinburgh Castle in 1607, and in 1608 shot the Laird of Johnstone. For these crimes, he was executed and his titles were forfeit.
The Mercat Cross of Edinburgh is a market cross, which stands in Parliament Square next to St Giles' Cathedral, facing the High Street in the Old Town of Edinburgh.
The Marian civil war in Scotland (1568–1573) was a period of conflict which followed the abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her escape from Lochleven Castle in May 1568. Those who ruled in the name of her infant son James VI fought against the supporters of the Queen, who was exiled in England. Edinburgh Castle, which was garrisoned in her name, became the focus of the conflict and surrendered only after an English intervention in May 1573. The conflict in 1570 was called an "internecine war in the bowels of this commonwealth", and the period was called soon after an "internecine war driven by questions against authority."
David Schang was a Scottish carpenter and fortune-teller working in 16th-century Edinburgh.
John Tamworth was an English courtier, Member of Parliament (1563), and ambassador to Scotland.
