The executioner is one of the foremost positions in human society. From the time of Ancient Egypt to the present day, someone, unfortunately, has to do this terrible job - to carry out the death penalty on criminals.
Executioner in European history
In Western countries, during the first millennium AD, the death penalty was not commonplace. As a rule, the perpetrator, even if he was accused of murder, was sentenced to payment of monetary compensation to the victim or the victim's relatives. In the event that the crime was committed against the state, its ruler or the church, the execution of the death sentence was entrusted to the bailiff, the youngest of the judges, or to the victim himself. Sometimes a criminal who agreed to become the bloody hand of justice was overturned by his own death sentence.
Over time, the position of executioner appeared officially, but it was very difficult for a person with such a profession. In addition to the horrors of the craft itself, he had to endure the extremely hostile attitude of society. So, the house of the executor of death sentences was built outside the city limits, he was forbidden to attend festivities, and in the church the executioner was allowed to stand only at the very exit and confess to the last of the parishioners. The executioner could create a family only with the daughter of one of his colleagues, and soon this profession began to be inherited from father to son.
Execution in Russian
In Russia, in ancient times, the executioner, or kat, was always in the business. But, in fairness, I must say that more often he had not to chop off heads from his shoulders, but to subject criminals to corporal punishment and torture suspects in various sophisticated ways.
The types and methods of torture were strictly regulated, moreover, their use was mandatory during interrogation. So, in order to gain recognition, it was necessary to use a whip, torture with water dripping on the crown of the head - "a thin jug" - and, of course, a rack.
Dyba is the most effective tool in the arsenal of the ancient Russian executioner and at the same time the most popular. Before hanging a person from the deck, the katu had to dislocate his arms from the shoulder joints. This cruel ritual was the reason why the executioners began to be called "back masters", but the consequences of such torture were reversible, the joints were repositioned, and the person was again able to work.
Of course, the "masters" had plenty of other work behind the criminal's shoulders: with the help of whips and a batog, the executioner could demonstrate the level of his qualifications. For example, how, having inflicted a myriad of blows, not leave a single scar on the back of the offender, or remove the skin from him, just slashing with a whip three times.
But, of course, nothing could make the executioner profession prestigious. More and more often those sentenced to exile in Siberia were involved in doing dirty work, but they could not be forced to do this for more than three years. As a result, there were no specialists left in Russia in carrying out bodily torture, and since 1861 executions have ceased to be a public spectacle.
