Punishment has long been a tool for societies to maintain order and deter criminal behavior. Throughout history, authorities have devised increasingly severe methods to punish wrongdoers and dissuade potential lawbreakers. One such gruesome practice that reached its peak in 18th-century England was the use of the gibbet.
The Macabre Practice of “Hanging in Chains”
Envisioned as a dire admonition to potential lawbreakers, the practice of “hanging in chains,” or gibbeting, involved incarcerating malefactors in human-shaped enclosures and suspending them aloft in communal locales.
Through the annals of history, punishments meted out to transgressors have often been gruesomely severe. Among these draconian measures, the gibbet stands prominently. Predominant in 18th-century England, gibbeting entailed confining criminals within human-mimetic cages and showcasing them in public spaces as a deterrent. The gibbet itself denotes the wooden scaffold from which the cage was suspended. Typically, culprits faced execution before gibbeting; however, some hapless souls were left to perish within the gibbet.
Origins and Implementation of the Gibbet
Tracing its roots to the Medieval era, the gibbet gained traction in the 17th and 18th centuries. Comparable to the guillotine, executioner’s block, impalement stake, or gallows, gibbeting involved displaying the cadaver of a criminal in a cage, also known as “hanging in chains.”
Despite its longstanding use, the practice was formally codified in England by the Murder Act of 1752. This decree mandated that murder convicts be gibbeted or dissected, although it was also applied to traitors, robbers, highwaymen, and pirates. Among the notable individuals gibbeted was the infamous pirate Captain Kidd, who in 1701 was hanged in chains in London, serving as a cautionary exhibit for aspiring pirates.
Spectacle and Decline of Gibbeting
Ironically, the gibbeting of criminals became a significant public spectacle, attracting throngs of onlookers. However, on several occasions, gibbeting backfired, especially under unpopular rulers. In the early 14th century, King Edward II ordered the bodies of rebels Henry of Montfort and Henry of Wylynton to be gibbeted near Bristol. Given Edward II’s unpopularity, the gibbets turned into relics of rebellion, with some even attributing miracles to the proximity of the gibbets.
As the grisly practice waned in popularity, it was officially abolished in England in 1834, a decision that is easily comprehensible in hindsight.
Why Gibbeting Was Abandoned
Despite its macabre allure, living near a gibbet was highly unpleasant. Authorities intentionally made gibbets difficult to dismantle, with some hanging from 30-foot posts or being studded with nails to deter removal. Gibbets often remained until the bodies decomposed into skeletons, with the stench compelling nearby residents to shutter their windows and endure the eerie clanking of the swaying gibbets.
The logistical challenges of staging executions by gibbet and the lack of uniform cage designs further contributed to its downfall. Many opposed the practice as barbaric, and some Christians deemed it disrespectful to display the dead.
Legacy of the Gibbet
Despite its abolition, the remnants of gibbeting linger in England. Numerous gibbet cages are preserved in small museums, and many locales bear the names of gibbeted criminals, serving as a somber reminder of this brutal historical practice. Even with its notorious reputation, gibbeting did not achieve its intended effect of crime reduction, leading to its eventual cessation.
After delving into the grisly history of gibbeting, explore the final words of 23 infamous criminals before their executions, and uncover the brutal history of immurement, where victims were entombed alive.
