Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
NOTICE: If you have a weak stomach, you may want to sit this one out.
The guillotine is a method of execution in which the person to be executed kneels with his head down between two upright supports which hold a blade above their head. When a rope is cut the blade falls decapitating the person.
We associate the guillotine with the French Revolution but the last time the French executed someone with this method was, believe it or not, 10 Sep 1977. The unlucky criminal was Hamida Djandoubi, who was convicted of the torture and murder of former girlfriend, 21-year-old Elisabeth Bousquet. The execution was carried out by Marcel Chevalier. France was not alone, even in recent times. The Nazis made prolific use of the guillotine in Germany, but it didn't end there. Even after the second World War ended, West Germany used it until 1949 and East Germany as late as 1966.
Although the guillotine is most commonly associated with France's 18th century Reign of Terror, the French did not invent the guillotine. Although the name does come from a Frenchman, Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, similar machines for executing by decapitation had been in use throughout Europe for centuries.
In 1307 Murcod Ballagh was executed in Ireland using a similar device. There were differences, however. The blade was an axehead which was brought down by striking a device with a large hammer instead of by gravity.
A device known as the Halifax Gibbet, named after the English town of Halifax in West Yorkshire, was first used in the 16th century. Although execution by decapitation was common in England, the use of a device like this is unique to the country. It was used until Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) outlawed capital punishment for petty theft. Its last use was for the execution of two men on 30 Apr 1650.
Its use during the French revolution was the work of Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, who is also known for his work to reform capital punishment in France. The devices in use at the time often crushed the neck and they wanted a method that would cause a quick death. Interestingly, the device was used on all condemned people, regardless of social standing.
During France's Reign of Terror (mid-1790s), executions by guillotine drew huge crowds of spectators who often complained that it was over too quickly. Executioners became celebrities.
The prototype was made by German engineer and harpsichord maker Tobias Schmidt. His contribution to the designs already in use was to replace the older curved blades with a straight edge at a 45º angle. Schmidt's design was first used on highwayman Nicolas Jacques Pelletier on 25 Apr 1792.
As far as its aim to make executions more humane goes, the guillotine was not entirely successful. The problem was its efficiency in removing heads. So efficient, in fact, that the victim did not immediately lose consciousness as they did with the other methods of decapitation. Some doctors claim that the severed head retains its senses of sight and hearing for up to fifteen minutes. Eyewitness accounts mention blinking eyes and movement of the mouth, however, since the larynx would be with the rest of the body, no sound would be made.
© 2017 Gary J. Sibio. All rights reserved.