Hanging drawing and quartering: Encyclopedia II - Hanging drawing and quartering - France

Hanging drawing and quartering - France

In France, the traditional punishment for regicide or attempted regicide under the ancien régime is often described as "quartering", though it in fact has little to do with the English punishment. The process was as follows: the regicide would be first tortured with red-hot pincers, then the hand with which the crime was committed would be burnt with sulphur and molten lead and wax and boiling oil poured into the wounds. The quartering would be accomplished by the attachment of the victim's limbs to horses, who would then tear them away from the body. Finally, the often still-living torso would be burnt. Notable examples include:

• Jean Châtel, who failed to assassinate Henri IV
• François Ravaillac, the killer of Henri IV
• Robert-François Damiens, who failed to assassinate Louis XV in 1757
• Jacques Clément, the murderer of Henri III was actually killed during the regicide. Nevertheless, his corpse was subjected to the punishment described above.

These executions were carried out (along with most others under the ancien régime) in the Place de Grève.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "France", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki