Hung, Drawn and Quartered

By Crusader1307

Although not specifically a Device, the "Process" being ''Hung, Drawn and Quartered'' was perhaps one of the most gruesome and effective in the Middle Ages. Generally reserved for Traitors, this method of Execution was a "high Art" form in England. First recorded as being used during the reign of Richard III, the Process involved the accused being "Drawn" or taken by cart to a place of Public Execution (it was meant to be witnessed). Next the Victim was "Hung" by the Neck to a point of near death. Still alive, The Accused would be strapped down to a wooden table or frame. Emasculation followed (cutting off the Victim's testicles). STILL alive, the Victim was subject to being disembowelled (slowly being drawn out by hand (via incision) or spit turn frame). The Final Act? - a Victim was then cut into equal pieces (Quartered). These pieces would be ''scattered'' (taken to distant Regions) - or EVEN displayed for all to see. The Methods would be used in England until the late 17th Century AD.