Posthumous execution
Encyclopedia
Posthumous execution is the ritual
or ceremonial mutilation
of an already dead body as a punishment.
on judgement day requires that the body be buried whole facing east so that the body could rise facing God
. If dismemberment stopped the possibility of the resurrection of an intact body, then a posthumous execution was an effective way of punishing a criminal.
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
or ceremonial mutilation
Mutilation
Mutilation or maiming is an act of physical injury that degrades the appearance or function of any living body, usually without causing death.- Usage :...
of an already dead body as a punishment.
Examples
- Li LinfuLi LinfuLi Linfu , nickname Genu , formally the Duke of Jin , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor for 18 years , during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong—one of the longest terms of service for a chancellor in Tang history, and the longest during Xuanzong's reign.Li...
, Chancellor of Tang China during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong (712–756) in the latter years, was exhumed and executed for crimes of high treason by his rival Yang GuozhongYang GuozhongYang Guozhong , né Yang Zhao , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor late in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong...
for his implication in the An Lushan Rebellion. - Harold I HarefootHarold HarefootHarold Harefoot was King of England from 1037 to 1040. His cognomen "Harefoot" referred to his speed, and the skill of his huntsmanship. He was the son of Cnut the Great, king of England, Denmark, and Norway by Ælfgifu of Northampton...
, king of the Anglo-Saxons (1035–1040), illegitimate son of Cnut, died in 1040 and his half-brother, HarthacanuteHarthacanuteHarthacnut was King of Denmark from 1035 to 1042 and King of England from 1040 to 1042.He was the son of King Cnut the Great, who ruled Denmark, Norway, and England, and Emma of Normandy. When Cnut died in 1035, Harthacnut struggled to retain his father's possessions...
, on succeeding him, had his body taken from its tomb and cast in a pen with animals. - Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of LeicesterSimon de Montfort, 6th Earl of LeicesterSimon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester , sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from other Simon de Montforts, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. He led the barons' rebellion against King Henry III of England during the Second Barons' War of 1263-4, and...
, was killed at the Battle of EveshamBattle of EveshamThe Battle of Evesham was one of the two main battles of 13th century England's Second Barons' War. It marked the defeat of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the rebellious barons by Prince Edward – later King Edward I – who led the forces of his father, King Henry III...
in 1265, his corpse was beheaded, castrated and quartered by the knights of King Henry III of EnglandHenry III of EnglandHenry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
. - John WycliffeJohn WycliffeJohn Wycliffe was an English Scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay preacher, translator, reformer and university teacher who was known as an early dissident in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century. His followers were known as Lollards, a somewhat rebellious movement, which preached...
(1328–1384), was burned as a hereticChristian heresyChristian heresy refers to non-orthodox practices and beliefs that were deemed to be heretical by one or more of the Christian churches. In Western Christianity, the term "heresy" most commonly refers to those beliefs which were declared to be anathema by the Catholic Church prior to the schism of...
45 years after he died. - Vlad the ImpalerVlad III the ImpalerVlad III, Prince of Wallachia , also known by his patronymic Dracula , and posthumously dubbed Vlad the Impaler , was a three-time Voivode of Wallachia, ruling mainly from 1456 to 1462, the period of the incipient Ottoman conquest of the Balkans...
(1431–1476), who was beheaded following his assassination. - King Richard III of EnglandRichard III of EnglandRichard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
(1452–1485), who was hanged by his successor King Henry VIIHenry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
following his death at the Battle of Bosworth FieldBattle of Bosworth FieldThe Battle of Bosworth Field was the penultimate battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York that raged across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 August 1485, the battle was won by the Lancastrians...
. His body was further desecrated following the Dissolution of the MonasteriesDissolution of the MonasteriesThe Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
and, according to legend, thrown into the River SoarRiver SoarThe River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands.-Description:It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester , Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near...
. - Jacopo BonfadioJacopo BonfadioJacopo Bonfadio was an Italian humanist and historian.Born in Garda he was educated at Verona and Padua. From 1532 he worked as the secretary of various members of the clergy in Rome and Naples, however in 1540 gained employment in Padua with the son of Cardinal-humanist Pietro Bembo...
(1508–1550) was beheaded for sodomySodomySodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
and then his corpse was burned at the stake for heresy. - Pietro Martire VermigliPietro Martire VermigliPeter Martyr Vermigli , sometimes simply Peter Martyr, was an Italian theologian of the Reformation period.-Life:...
(1500–1562) was burned as a heretic following his death. - Nils DackeNils DackeNils Dacke was the leader of a 16th century peasant revolt in Småland, southern Sweden called the Dacke War , fought against the Swedish king Gustav I. It was the most widespread and serious civil war in Swedish history and almost toppled the king.-Background:Gustav Vasa had come to power at the...
, leader of a 16th century peasant revolt in southern SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. - Gilles van LedenbergGilles van LedenbergGilles van Ledenberg was a Dutch statesman. He was secretary of the States of Utrecht from 1588 until his arrest for treason in 1618, together with Johan van Oldenbarnevelt. He committed suicide to prevent forfeiture of his assets, but he was sentenced to death posthumously and posthumously...
, whose embalmed corpse was hanged from a gibbet in 1619, after his conviction of treason in the trial of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt. - A number of the regicides of Charles I of EnglandCharles I of EnglandCharles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
had died before the RestorationEnglish RestorationThe Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
of King Charles IICharles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. Parliament passed an order of attainder for High TreasonHigh treason in the United KingdomUnder the law of the United Kingdom, high treason is the crime of disloyalty to the Crown. Offences constituting high treason include plotting the murder of the sovereign; having sexual intercourse with the sovereign's consort, with his eldest unmarried daughter, or with the wife of the heir to the...
on the four most prominent deceased regicides: John BradshawJohn Bradshaw (judge)John Bradshaw was an English judge. He is most notable for his role as President of the High Court of Justice for the trial of King Charles I and as the first Lord President of the Council of State of the English Commonwealth....
the court president, Oliver CromwellOliver CromwellOliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
, Henry IretonHenry IretonHenry Ireton was an English general in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War. He was the son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell.-Early life:...
and Thomas PrideThomas PrideThomas Pride was a parliamentarian general in the English Civil War, and best known as the instigator of "Pride's Purge".-Early Life and Starting Career:...
. The bodies were exhumed and the first three were hanged, drawn and quarteredHanged, drawn and quarteredTo be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
at TyburnTyburn, LondonTyburn was a village in the county of Middlesex close to the current location of Marble Arch in present-day London. It took its name from the Tyburn or Teo Bourne 'boundary stream', a tributary of the River Thames which is now completely covered over between its source and its outfall into the...
. The most prominent was the former Lord ProtectorLord ProtectorLord Protector is a title used in British constitutional law for certain heads of state at different periods of history. It is also a particular title for the British Heads of State in respect to the established church...
Cromwell, whose body — after said "punishment" — was thrown, minus its head, into a common pit. The head was finally buried in 1960. See also Oliver Cromwell's headOliver Cromwell's headFollowing the death of Oliver Cromwell on 3 September 1658, he was given a public funeral at Westminster Abbey, equal to those of monarchs before him. After successfully defeating and executing King Charles I after the English Civil War, Cromwell had become Lord Protector and ruler of the English...
. The body of Pride was not "punished" perhaps because it had decayed too much. Of the regicides still alive then, some were executed and others either fled or were imprisoned. For a full list see list of regicides of Charles I. - Captain William KiddWilliam KiddWilliam "Captain" Kidd was a Scottish sailor remembered for his trial and execution for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. Some modern historians deem his piratical reputation unjust, as there is evidence that Kidd acted only as a privateer...
, whose body was gibbeted in 1701 — left to hang in an iron cage over the River Thames at Tilbury Point — as a warning to future would-be pirates for twenty years. - In 1917 the body of Rasputin, the Russian mystic, was exhumed from the ground by a mob and burned with gasoline.
- In 1918 the body of Lavr KornilovLavr KornilovLavr Georgiyevich Kornilov was a military intelligence officer, explorer, and general in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and the ensuing Russian Civil War...
, the Russian general, was exhumed from the ground by a pro-Bolshevik mob, beaten, trampled down and burned. - In 1945 the body of Italian dictator Benito MussoliniBenito MussoliniBenito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
was lynched, hung (upside down), kicked in the head by passers-by, and shot several times after his execution by a firing squad. - General Gracia Jacques, a supporter of François DuvalierFrançois DuvalierFrançois Duvalier was the President of Haiti from 1957 until his death in 1971. Duvalier first won acclaim in fighting diseases, earning him the nickname "Papa Doc" . He opposed a military coup d'état in 1950, and was elected President in 1957 on a populist and black nationalist platform...
("Papa Doc") (1907–1971), HaitiHaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an dictator, whose body was exhumed and ritually beaten to 'death' in 1986.
Dissection as a punishment in England
Some Christians believed that the resurrection of the deadResurrection of the dead
Resurrection of the Dead is a belief found in a number of eschatologies, most commonly in Christian, Islamic, Jewish and Zoroastrian. In general, the phrase refers to a specific event in the future; multiple prophesies in the histories of these religions assert that the dead will be brought back to...
on judgement day requires that the body be buried whole facing east so that the body could rise facing God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. If dismemberment stopped the possibility of the resurrection of an intact body, then a posthumous execution was an effective way of punishing a criminal.
See also
- Cadaver SynodCadaver SynodThe Cadaver Synod is the name commonly given to the posthumous ecclesiastical trial of Catholic Pope Formosus, held in the Basilica of St...
, in 897, when Pope Stephen VIPope Stephen VIPope Stephen VI was Pope from May 22, 896 to August 897.He had been made bishop of Anagni by Pope Formosus. The circumstances of his election are unclear, but he was sponsored by one of the powerful Roman families, the house of Spoleto, that contested the papacy at the time.Stephen is chiefly...
had the corpse of Pope FormosusPope FormosusPope Formosus was Pope of the Catholic Church from 891 to 896. His brief reign as Pope was troubled, and his remains were exhumed and put on trial in the notorious Cadaver Synod.-Biography:...
disinterred and put on trial.