The Maiden (also known as the Scottish Maiden) is an early form of

guillotine 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 stocks at t ...

, or

gibbet A gibbet is any instrument of public execution (including guillotine, executioner's block, impalement stake, hanging gallows, or related scaffold). Gibbeting is the use of a gallows-type structure from which the dead or dying bodies of cri ...

, that was used between the 16th and 18th centuries as a means of

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the 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 conclude that ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, Scotland. The device was introduced in 1564 during the reign of

Mary Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Sco ...

, and was last used in 1716. It long predates the use of the guillotine during 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

. Manufactured in Edinburgh, the Maiden is built of oak, with a lead weight and iron blade. It is displayed at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

History

Beheading machines were not a new idea: a European example is shown in a 1539 illustration by

Lucas Cranach the Elder Lucas Cranach the Elder (german: Lucas Cranach der Ältere ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is kno ...

. By 1563, the sword used for executions in Edinburgh was worn out, and in February of that year funds were used to pay for the loan of a sword for a beheading. After this, the Maiden was constructed to an order from the Provost and Magistrates of Edinburgh in 1564,Maxwell, H
Edinburgh, A Historical Study
', Williams and Norgate (1916), pp. 137, 299–303 . during the reign of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

, and the records of the construction of the Maiden survive. The accounts reveal that it was made by the carpenters Adam and Patrick Schang and George Tod. Andrew Gotterson added the lead weight to the blade. Patrick Schang was paid two pounds for his 'whole labours and devising of the timber work'. Schang also made furniture in Edinburgh, including an oak bed for Queen Mary's half-brother, the Earl of Moray. The first execution on record was that of Thomas Scott of Cambusmichael, on 3 April 1565. The accounts of the City Treasurer for this execution record payment for moving the components of the Maiden from Blackfriars to the town cross, assembling the machine and taking it down afterwards. The oak construction could be readily dismantled for storage, and moved to various locations: executions using it were carried out at the Mercat Cross, Edinburgh, (off the High Street), the Castlehill and the

Grassmarket The Grassmarket is a historic market place, street and event space in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In relation to the rest of the city it lies in a hollow, well below surrounding ground levels. Location The Grassmarket is located direct ...

. The Maiden was lent to

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

in 1591 for the execution of William Gibsone, and the accounts show payment for "careing of the Maiden ther and hame agin". During the minority of King

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, the

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton (c. 1516 – 2 June 1581, aged 65) was the last of the four regents of Scotland during the minority of King James VI. He was in some ways the most successful of the four, since he won the civil war that had b ...

was executed by the Maiden in 1581.

David Hume of Godscroft David Hume or Home of Godscroft (1558–1629) was a Scottish historian and political theorist, poet and controversialist, a major intellectual figure in Jacobean Scotland. It has been said that "Hume marks the culmination of the Scottish humani ...

's 1644 ''History of the House of Douglas'' said that Morton was responsible for its introduction, and had based the concept on the

Halifax Gibbet 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 Maiden, which he himself had caused make after the patterne which he had seen in Halifax in Yorkshire". Although there was no other support for this claim, later writers repeated the legend. A 1789 history of Halifax embellished it with the story that Morton "carried a model of it to his own country, where it remained so long unused, that it acquired the name of the Maiden." From 1564 to 1710, more than 150 people were executed on the Maiden, after which it was withdrawn from use. Notable victims included Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, in 1661, executed following the Restoration of Charles II, and his son Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, in 1685, executed for intending to lead a rebellion against

James VII James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

. These executions took place at the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh. The last execution that was performed upon the Maiden was that of John Hamilton on 30 June 1716, for the murder of a publican during a brawl. The Maiden was stored away, and when rediscovered was put on display at the Museum of Antiquities, now the National Museum of Scotland.

Mechanism

The person under sentence of death placed their head on a crossbar which is about four feet from the bottom.

Lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

weights weighing around 75 pounds (34 kg) were attached to the

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

blade A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Histor ...

. The blade is guided by grooves cut within the inner edges of the frame. A peg, which is in turn attached to a cord, kept the blade in place. The executioner removed the peg by pulling sharply on the cord, and this caused the blade to fall and decapitate the condemned. If the condemned had been tried for stealing a horse, the cord was attached to the animal which, on being whipped, started running away removing the peg, thereby becoming the executioner.

References

{{reflist, 40em

External links

McCulloch, William Thomson, 'History of the Maiden,' ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries Scotland'', vol. 7 (1866-7), pp. 535-560

BBC article

The Guillotine Headquarters
Execution methods Capital punishment in Scotland Collections of the National Museums of Scotland History of Edinburgh Execution equipment 1564 establishments in Scotland 1716 disestablishments in Europe 1716 disestablishments in Scotland fr:Guillotine#Maiden %C3%A9cossaise

History

Mechanism

See also

References

External links