A head on a spike (also described as a head on a pike, a head on a stake, or a head on a spear) is a severed head that has been vertically impaled for display. This has been a custom in a number of cultures, typically either as part of a criminal penalty following

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the State (polity), state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to ...

or as a

war trophy __NOTOC__ A war trophy is an item taken during warfare by an invading force. Common war trophies include flags, weapons, vehicles, and art. History In ancient Greece and ancient Rome, military victories were commemorated with a display of captu ...

following a violent conflict. The symbolic value may change over time. It may give a warning to spectators. The head may be a human head or an animal head.

History

The earliest known

archeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

evidence for mounting heads on stakes has been identified in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, at a

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...

site in Kanaljorden, in the floor of a dried lake, dating to 8,000 years ago.Gummeson ''et al.'' 2018. There, archeologists recovered human crania with the remnants of wooden stakes still in place within the two crania. The crania exhibited evidence of blunt force trauma that looked to have resulted from a violent confrontation. Archeologists interpreted the wooden stakes as evidence that the heads had been mounted for display by members of the Swedish Mesolithic

hunter-gatherer A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...

culture. In

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the heads of criminals, especially those convicted of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, were mounted for display on

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...

from about 1300 until about 1660.Thornbury 1878.London Bridge Head Spikes Heads were usually dipped in

tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bit ...

to slow down the

decomposition Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is e ...

process. Criminal punishment was sometimes posthumous, as the body of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

was exhumed so that it could be

hanged, drawn, and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the reign of King Henry III ( ...

, and his head was mounted on a spike and displayed for 30 years.Fitzgibbons 2008: 31.

Noted examples

William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army a ...

(c. 1270–1305) * Simon Fraser (d. 1306) *

Jack Cade Jack Cade's Rebellion was a popular revolt in 1450 against the government of England, which took place in the south-east of the country between the months of April and July. It stemmed from local grievances regarding the corruption, maladmini ...

(c. 1420–1450) *

Richard of York Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York (21 September 1411 – 30 December 1460), also named Richard Plantagenet, was a leading English magnate and claimant to the throne during the Wars of the Roses. He was a member of the ruling House of Planta ...

(1411–1460) *

Edmund, Earl of Rutland Edmund, Earl of Rutland (17 May 1443 – 30 December 1460) was the fourth child and second surviving son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville. He was a younger brother of Edward, Earl of March, the future King Edward ...

(1443-1460) *

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI. Fisher was executed by o ...

(1469-1535) *

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

(1478–1535) *

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

(c. 1485–1540) *

Richard Gwyn Richard Gwyn (ca. 1537 – 15 October 1584), also known by his anglicised name, Richard White, was a Welsh teacher at illegal and underground schools and a Bard who wrote both Christian and satirical poetry in the Welsh language. A Ro ...

(ca.1537-1584) *

Muiris Mac Ionrachtaigh Muiris Mac Ionrachtaigh, anglicised as Maurice MacKenraghty (executed 30 April 1585, Clonmel, County Tipperary) was an Irish Roman Catholic priest and one of the Irish Catholic Martyrs. He was beatified in 1992. Life Although the exact date of ...

(d.1585) *

Cahir O'Doherty Sir Cahir O'Doherty ( ga, Cathaoir Ó Dochartaigh or ga, label=none, Caṫaoir Ó Doċartaiġ; 1587–5 July 1608) was the last Gaelic Chief of the Name of Clan O'Doherty and Lord of Inishowen, in what is now County Donegal. O'Doherty was a n ...

(1587-1608) *

(1599–1658) *

Redmond O'Hanlon Redmond O'Hanlon, FRGS, FRSL (born 5 June 1947) is an English writer and scholar. Life O'Hanlon was born in 1947 in Dorset, England. He was educated at Marlborough College and then Oxford University. After taking his M.Phil. in nineteenth-ce ...

(c. 1640 – 1681) *

Éamonn an Chnoic "Éamonn an Chnoic" ("Ned of the Hill") is a popular Sean nos song in traditional Irish music. It is a slow, mournful ballad with a somber theme and no chorus. The song is attributed to Éamonn Ó Riain (Edmund O'Ryan) (d.c.1724), an early 18th c ...

(d.c.1724) Stephen Dunford (2000), ''The Irish Highwaymen'', Merlin Publishing. Pages 47-48. *

Jacques de Flesselles Jacques de Flesselles (; 11 November 173014 July 1789) was a French official and one of the early victims of the French Revolution. Early life Jacques de Flesselles was born in Paris in 1730 of a family of middle-class origins, which had recently ...

(1730–1789) *

Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay Bernard René Jourdan, marquis de Launay (8/9 April 1740 – 14 July 1789) was the French governor of the Bastille. He was the son of a previous governor, and commander of the Bastille's garrison when the prison-fortress in Paris was stormed ...

(1740–1789) *

Staker Wallace Patrick "Staker" Wallace (1733 - 1798) was a United Irishman, perhaps born at Teermore, in Bulgaden-Ballinvana parish of County Limerick, Ireland, near the town of Kilfinane. He achieved some fame as an Irish patriot when he was brutally execute ...

(1733–1798) * John Murphy (1753–1798) *

Vela Peeva Vela Peeva ( bg, Вела Пеева) (16 March 1922 – 3 May 1944) with the nom de guerre Penka was a communist partisan and activist of the Bulgarian Workers Youth League and the Bulgarian Communist Party during World War II. Early life and ...

(1922–1944)

Gallery

File:Rex Whistler - Sketch of a Head impaled on a Pike 1924.jpg, A sketch of a head impaled on a pike, included in a letter to Ronald Fuller dated 1924 File:Heads on pikes.jpg, Drawing of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

: "Aristocratic Heads on Pikes" File:Jacques de Flesselles.jpg, Engraving c.1789 of French militia hoisting the heads of

and the marquis de Launay on pikes File:Epouvantail pour les ennemis de la France Fleisch.jpg, Historical caricature on the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Cite book, last=Thornbury, first=Walter, chapter=London Bridge, title=Old and New London, volume=2, pages=9–17, url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol2/pp9-17 , accessdate=12 March 2022 Warning systems

History

Noted examples

Gallery

See also

References

Bibliography