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Coup de grace useless beyond Heroric Tier?
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<blockquote data-quote="Artoomis" data-source="post: 4927285" data-attributes="member: 111"><p>This is a bit macabre, but exection by beheading with sword or axe were a chacny affair. Perhps the worst one that happened at the Tower of London was:</p><p></p><p>The most badly botched execution was that of James, Duke of Monmouth, in 1685. Monmouth, the illegitimate son of Charles II, had led an unsuccessful rebellion against his uncle, King James II. His executioner was the hangman, Jack Ketch, a notorious bungler with an axe. On climbing the scaffold, Monmouth picked up the axe and ran his fingers along the blade, asking Ketch if he thought it was sharp enough for the job. He handed Ketch six guineas, promising him six more if he did a clean job: "Pray do not serve me as you did my Lord Russell. I have heard you struck him four or five times; If you strike me twice, I cannot promise you not to stir."</p><p></p><p>Ketch had an attack of nerves and his first blow only grazed the back of the duke's head. Monmouth, who had refused the blindfold, turned his head around and gazed directly at Ketch, further unnerving him. When two more blows failed to sever the head, Ketch threw the axe down and offered 40 guineas to anyone in the crowd who could do better. At this the Sheriff of Middlesex, who was in charge of the execution, threatened to have him killed if he did not finish his job. When two more blows failed, Ketch had to use his knife, butchering the Duke like a pig.</p><p></p><p>also, FWIW:</p><p></p><p>The beheading device known as the guillotine was invented by Dr. Joseph Ignace Guillotin, a gentle French physician and one of the founders of Freemasonry in France. Appalled at the bungling executions he had seen, including slow hanging and beheading with dull axe blades, he decided to devise a swift and painless method of execution.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Artoomis, post: 4927285, member: 111"] This is a bit macabre, but exection by beheading with sword or axe were a chacny affair. Perhps the worst one that happened at the Tower of London was: The most badly botched execution was that of James, Duke of Monmouth, in 1685. Monmouth, the illegitimate son of Charles II, had led an unsuccessful rebellion against his uncle, King James II. His executioner was the hangman, Jack Ketch, a notorious bungler with an axe. On climbing the scaffold, Monmouth picked up the axe and ran his fingers along the blade, asking Ketch if he thought it was sharp enough for the job. He handed Ketch six guineas, promising him six more if he did a clean job: "Pray do not serve me as you did my Lord Russell. I have heard you struck him four or five times; If you strike me twice, I cannot promise you not to stir." Ketch had an attack of nerves and his first blow only grazed the back of the duke's head. Monmouth, who had refused the blindfold, turned his head around and gazed directly at Ketch, further unnerving him. When two more blows failed to sever the head, Ketch threw the axe down and offered 40 guineas to anyone in the crowd who could do better. At this the Sheriff of Middlesex, who was in charge of the execution, threatened to have him killed if he did not finish his job. When two more blows failed, Ketch had to use his knife, butchering the Duke like a pig. also, FWIW: The beheading device known as the guillotine was invented by Dr. Joseph Ignace Guillotin, a gentle French physician and one of the founders of Freemasonry in France. Appalled at the bungling executions he had seen, including slow hanging and beheading with dull axe blades, he decided to devise a swift and painless method of execution. [/QUOTE]
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