Historically in Europe, burning as a punishment only occurred for crimes such as
treason, heresy and witchcraft.
Used in many ancient societies:
o Christian
Martyrs (tunica molesta – flammable tunic)
o Byzantium
Empire (punishment for disobedient Zoroastrians* because of the belief that they
worshipped fire.
Burning Witches
Constitutio Criminalis Carolina (1532)** decreed that sorcery throughout the Holy Roman Empire should be treated as a criminal offence, and if it purported to inflict injury upon any person the witch was to be burnt at the stake.
- Augustus, Elector of Saxony, imposed the penalty of burning for witchcraft of every kind, including simple fortune telling.
So why was
Joan burned? She was burned 100 years before this decree.
- Well she wasn’t actually tried as a witch, but rather as a heretic and for wearing men’s clothing. And many famous cases of burning date back to 1314 (Jacques de Molay).
And of course, witches were not always sentenced to death.
- Punished and tortured into confession and then saved for doing so (but still jailed).
Punishments: the wheel, hanging, the saw, mastectomy, spider, impalement, boiling limbs
The Saw: hanging upside down and sawing between the legs and
down (women usually didn’t die until the saw hit the naval)
Masectomy: burning the breasts with the spider until they melted
off
Impalement: A stake stuck up through the bottom until it gets to
the throat, and women could live for many hours this way.
Burning as a punishment fell into disfavour amongst governments
in the 18th Century.
Terms:
*Zoroastrians
·
Ancient
Iranian religion / religious philosophy
**The Constitutio Criminalis Carolina
·
First body
of German Criminal Law (Halsgerichtsordnung)
o Procedure for the judgement of capital crimes (Murder,
manslaughter, robbery, arson, homosexuality & witchcraft)
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_by_burning
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/says_about/burning.html
http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/burned-at-the-stake.htm
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