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Location: EXECUTIONS during Henry's reign as shown on The Tudors
Discussion: Beheading by the axe
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Renton405 |
Beheading by the axe
May 16 2010, 3:07 AM EDT
Is beheading by the axe on the block painful? I hear by some it is a painless death, but others say that the head can be alive after it is severed for a few seconds. That must be really creepy if that is true(the view of your head falling of your body with your own eyes). Some people say beheading is less painful than even lethal injection, just much more gory. Do you think Henry's wives were given a painless death?
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Rivki |
1. RE: Beheading by the axe
May 16 2010, 5:35 AM EDT
"Is beheading by the axe on the block painful? I hear by some it is a painless death, but others say that the head can be alive after it is severed for a few seconds. That must be really creepy if that is true(the view of your head falling of your body with your own eyes). Some people say beheading is less painful than even lethal injection, just much more gory. Do you think Henry's wives were given a painless death?"How would they know it's painless? Maybe if it was done very well and the head came off first time then perhaps there would have been little pain but that wasn't the case for everyone. I have heard that the head remains functional for about 8 seconds or so after decapitation;I heard once that the execuitoner would remove the victims blindfold and show the head their own body on the ground,gruesome no? Anne Boleyn was beheaded with a sword so it's likely her death was pretty much pain free as the sword was so fast and the execuitoner very skilled and I expect Katherine Howards executioner was careful to make her death as painfree as possible. 2 out of 6 found this valuable. Do you? |
Elliemental |
2. RE: Beheading by the axe
May 16 2010, 10:03 AM EDT
" How would they know it's painless?Technically though, the swifter the decapitation, the longer the head remains "conscious". Thats quite unpleasant. No way of knowing how painful it is, though. 2 out of 3 found this valuable. Do you? |
MsSquirrly |
3. RE: Beheading by the axe
May 16 2010, 10:20 AM EDT
Yeah no real way of knowing. The problem was that many executions by axe were not clean 'one chop' kind of things (Lady Salisbury, Cromwell, Mary Queen of Scots are well known) so I am sure they were painful. I think this is the reason Katherine Howard wanted to practice putting her neck on the block to hopefully be one of the lucky ones who only needed one swipe. With most extreme injuries, you usually find that in the minutes that it happens, there is a numbness and the pain kicks in moments later so I tend to think that there is no pain. The awful thing is, that IF they are still aware as their head is held up to view their decapitated body, that, that is their last image. As to what happens after that is anyone's guess.
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Renton405 |
4. RE: Beheading by the axe
May 16 2010, 9:43 PM EDT
" How would they know it's painless?well I was going by some accounts in wiki. after chopping off the head, would hold it up to the crowd. It was believed (with dubious evidence) that the head could still see for around ten secondsThe account of Dr. Beaurieux who observed the decapitation of a convict named Languille in 1905, may imply that the head could still see as he recounts "Next Languille's eyes very definitely fixed themselves on mine and the pupils focussed themselves" . As the guillotine was invented specifically to be "humane", however, the issue was seriously considered. Furthermore, there is the possibility that the very swiftness of the guillotine only prolonged the victim's suffering. The blade cuts quickly enough so that there is relatively little impact on the brain case, and perhaps less likelihood of immediate unconsciousness than with a more violent decapitation, or long-drop hanging. Audiences to guillotinings told numerous stories of blinking eyelids, speaking, moving eyes, movement of the mouth, even an expression of "unequivocal indignation" on the face of the decapitated Charlotte Corday when her cheek was slapped. 1 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
DuchessGrey |
5. RE: Beheading by the axe
May 17 2010, 10:36 AM EDT
| Post edited: May 17 2010, 10:37 AM EDT
Although, no one can ever know for sure (I am no doctor), if done correctly it probably is fairly painless. Like breaking someone's neck, which is an inner decapitation, you are basically severing the spinal column which is the life line to the body. The head may make motion or look as through it can see but that does not necessarily mean the person is still alive or continues for a few seconds to be who they were moments before. The head has no lungs to breath, no heart to regulate blood flow and so on which are key things that a person and their brain needs for survival. I read somewhere once that it can take sometime after death for the electric impulses in the brain to die down. Imo, it is just the electric impulses in the brain, but the person is gone. However, that is just my opinion I would not like to test it out, lol.
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WilesWales |
6. RE: Beheading by the axe
Mar 29 2011, 5:52 PM EDT
| Post edited: Mar 29 2011, 5:55 PM EDT
Even in the case of Anne Boleyn with the French swordsman, "Indeed, to take an extreme case, when a human head is chopped off there is evidence that the head is capable of consciousness for at least several seconds more and that it will almost surely feel itself hit the ground. Charlotte Corday's head was reported to have looked suddenly looked very annoyed a few seconds after she was guillotined...during the French Revolution (Murchie, Guy, "The Seven Mysteries of Life: An Exploration in Science and Philosophy," Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1978, p. 521). Just thought this might be of interest.
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WilesWales |
7. RE: Beheading by the axe
Mar 29 2011, 6:20 PM EDT
"Even in the case of Anne Boleyn with the French swordsman, "Indeed, to take an extreme case, when a human head is chopped off there is evidence that the head is capable of consciousness for at least several seconds more and that it will almost surely feel itself hit the ground. Charlotte Corday's head was reported to have looked suddenly looked very annoyed a few seconds after she was guillotined...during the French Revolution (Murchie, Guy, "The Seven Mysteries of Life: An Exploration in Science and Philosophy," Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1978, p. 521). Just thought this might be of interest. "It must be terrible death like most any other. It's easier to get into this world, but there's no easy way to get out. 1 out of 3 found this valuable. Do you? |
thorned_rose84 |
8. RE: Beheading by the axe
Mar 29 2011, 10:36 PM EDT
"It must be terrible death like most any other. It's easier to get into this world, but there's no easy way to get out. "Just picture it: The (hopefully) swift stroke of the axe. The sound of the blade cutting the air before slicing through the victim's neck. The head is lopped off and falls to the ground with a sickening thud. The body slumps from its kneeling position. Because the heart is still beating, blood spurts from the stump where the head used to be. Decapitation is my most feared way to die. 4 out of 4 found this valuable. Do you? |
SemperEadem |
9. RE: Beheading by the axe
Mar 29 2011, 11:30 PM EDT
"Even in the case of Anne Boleyn with the French swordsman, "Indeed, to take an extreme case, when a human head is chopped off there is evidence that the head is capable of consciousness for at least several seconds more and that it will almost surely feel itself hit the ground. Charlotte Corday's head was reported to have looked suddenly looked very annoyed a few seconds after she was guillotined...during the French Revolution (Murchie, Guy, "The Seven Mysteries of Life: An Exploration in Science and Philosophy," Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1978, p. 521). Just thought this might be of interest. "Ah, I just taught about Corday's beheading in class last week - the reported look of indignation she gave was in response to someone slapping her face after her head was removed from her body! Due to the French Revolution falling during a new age of scientific discovery, there were those who questioned the feelings that the body went through when the head was removed. One man who was sentenced to be guillotined experimented with the process and asked his friends to record how many times he blinked after he was beheaded. In doing this, he hoped to record how long a person's mind was intact after the separation. He blinked over 20 times, if I remember correctly. Whether it was painful or not, no one could say. However, the guillotine was created to "equalize" everyone in the matter that they met their death. It was considered to be humane, even though I have read theories today that such a swift motion of removal would actually prolong the "life" of the head and thus increase misery. 2 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
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WilesWales |
10. RE: Beheading by the axe
Mar 30 2011, 10:58 AM EDT
"Ah, I just taught about Corday's beheading in class last week - the reported look of indignation she gave was in response to someone slapping her face after her head was removed from her body!Excellent. The reason the head feels itself fall, and that there are reports that Anne Boleyn and Mary Queen of Scots, and others kept blinking their eyes, etc. is that not all oxygen has left the brain (my father, "Wiley Emmet Koon, MD, former President of the Florida Medical Association", my brother, "James Earl Koon, D.P.M.", and my research skills as a librarian, and when I completed my post-graduate studies. I had read this years ago, and asked. This is where the question of dying is debated as when the heart quits beating or when the brain loses all its oxygen (brain death), as well as other debates. We do know that once "dead" the hair and fingernails will grow for months. I did not know about Corday's annoyance may have been "in response to someone slapping her face! You must be wonderful professor, and would love to have been a student in your class! Thanks! 1 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
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WilesWales |
11. RE: Beheading by the axe
Mar 30 2011, 11:03 AM EDT
I agree! That is where the debate between "heart death and "brain death" comes in handy. Decapitation must be a most feared way to die, but burning to stake is pretty bad, too. Look at the people who jumped from the Twin Towers rather than facing the fire on 9/11. I would frear this death as much as well. But decapitation is, as we have not been beheaded, is most fearful. You have such great insight!
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WilesWales |
12. RE: Beheading by the axe
Mar 30 2011, 2:33 PM EDT
I've read theories such as that as well, but have no documentation her to back that up. In addiiton, it does not suprise me as oxygen in the brain depends upon the person's medical makeup, and that not everyone is the same. But it does last in the brain longer than the heart keeps beating. This is where the "definitions" of death began!
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