Throughout Elizabethan England, execution was considered a very popular sport for spectators. It became an important tool for the police to stay in charge and maintain loyalty to the crown. Criminals were hung for a range of offences, nobles and royalty could also be beheaded.
Victims would be dragged out of their prison cells and placed upon a wooden hurdle pulled by horses, often copping abuse from the crowd as they went past. The execution would take place in a public site, mainly in a market or meeting place. The victims would be hung and left there for a little while, then whilst still alive cut down. The next executioner would slit open the victim and remove internal organs, they would then set them on fire. The victim would then have all limbs and body parts separated from the actual body with the executioner using a butchers knife. Finally the body parts would be taken to be displayed on long poles, warning travelers of terrible fate for any traitors. They would be displayed in areas such as the entry gates of the city and river crossings like the London bridge.
Victims would be dragged out of their prison cells and placed upon a wooden hurdle pulled by horses, often copping abuse from the crowd as they went past. The execution would take place in a public site, mainly in a market or meeting place. The victims would be hung and left there for a little while, then whilst still alive cut down. The next executioner would slit open the victim and remove internal organs, they would then set them on fire. The victim would then have all limbs and body parts separated from the actual body with the executioner using a butchers knife. Finally the body parts would be taken to be displayed on long poles, warning travelers of terrible fate for any traitors. They would be displayed in areas such as the entry gates of the city and river crossings like the London bridge.