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A scaffold (french: échafaud, german: Schafott) is a raised, stage-like site for public executions.
The execution was practised in public places. The "public spectacle" character of the execution was meant to deter the people from committing crimes, and demonstrate the authority of the Government, while simultaneously acting as a form of entertainment for the masses. For this purpose, the scaffold was often higher than a podium setup, and was therefore also called scaffold.
Initially,
A scaffold (french: échafaud, german: Schafott) is a raised, stage-like site for public executions.
The execution was practised in public places. The "public spectacle" character of the execution was meant to deter the people from committing crimes, and demonstrate the authority of the Government, while simultaneously acting as a form of entertainment for the masses. For this purpose, the scaffold was often higher than a podium setup, and was therefore also called scaffold.
Initially, beheading
Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...
by an executioner
An executioner, also known as a hangman or headsman, is an official who executes a sentence of capital punishment on a legally condemned person.
Scope and job
The executioner was usually presented with a warrant authorising or orderin ...
was usually performed with a sword
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed t ...
, axe, or hatchet
A hatchet (from the Old French , a diminutive form of ''hache'', ' axe' of Germanic origin) is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side. Hatchets may also be us ...
, later executions were sometimes performed with a 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 ...
instead.
Scaffold in Hanau, Germany
In the Wolfgang district of Hanau, on the grounds of the old Argonne barracks, still stands the scaffold named ''Höfer Heath''. On , after a circumstantial process, the woman-murderer Johann Heinrich Nolte was beheaded. This was the last execution in Hanau. About witnessed the event.''Hanauer Anzeiger'', 13 and 15 January 2011References