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Bezig met laden... A Hangman's Diary: The Journal of Master Franz Schmidt, Public Executioner of Nuremberg, 1573-1617 (1801)door Franz Schmidt, Albrecht Keller (Redacteur)
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. Edited and with an Introduction by Albrecht Keller and an essay “A Brief Account of Criminal Procedure in Germany in the Middle Ages”, by C. V. Calvert This is a diary of the executioner of the city of Nuremberg in Germany. It begins with an essay by C. V. Calvert followed by a brief introduction to the diary itself. If you’re interested in medieval justice, the essay is invaluable, explaining the various people who worked at the prison, what a cell looked like, the various punishments meted out and for what crimes. The language used is occasionally archaic, for example the translator uses ‘incendiary’ where we would be more familiar with the term ‘arsonist’. The introduction goes over some information about the city of Nuremberg and the text itself. The journal is edited, with occasional notes in brackets explaining that information has been cut (generally items in lists, for example with thieves, where 2 or 3 thefts are given details and others left out for space). There are also some notes referring the reader to other passages (when someone is let off and is later executed or if two people are accused and executed on different days). The diary entries alternate between terse single lines, “A thief hanged” and long passages giving tantalizing details of the crimes for which people were punished. The diary is a bit frustrating in that you’re never given motivations for the crimes, and in some places I dearly wanted to know more of what went on. On the whole it was a quick, interesting read. An entry from Nuremberg hangman Franz Schmidt’s diary, for Friday, February 12th 1584: “Five thieves who … had burgled and stolen. …the eldest were 22, 17, 16 and 15 years old; the youngest 13 years. All five hanged here at Nuremberg.” It didn’t pay to be a juvenile delinquent, apparently. The actual diary is about half the book; the rest is commentary by English translator C.V. Calvert and German legal scholar Albrecht Keller. Schmidt was unusual in keeping a record; Calvert reports most hangmen were illiterate. The original was lost but manuscript copies are known from several German libraries, indicating it must have been of sufficient interest for people to copy it out in longhand. Nuremburg seems to have been pretty tolerant for the place and time; both Catholic and Lutheran chaplains are mentioned as ministering to the condemned and there are no witches burned (although a woman gets it for claiming to be a witch; it’s clear, though, that she’s punished for defrauding people of money rather than a pact with Satan). There’s a nod to justice for both the rich and poor: a couple of wealthy men are beheaded: a former town councilor, found guilty of embezzlement, and a burgher who killed a prostitute. There’s gender equality; women are hanged and beheaded for a variety of offenses, with infanticide punished by drowning in a sack. (Pretty frequently; in one case Schmidt intervenes to get the sentence commuted to a lesser punishment, beheading. As much as can be told from Schmidt’s accounts – he was responsible for administering justice, not for judgement – the women convicted of infanticide were mostly servants seduced by their masters, and the masters aren’t punished. But there’s one case of a man executed for raping a 14-year-old). It isn’t strictly a capital crime for a woman to be adulterous, promiscuous, or a prostitute, but several women are executed for having sex with both a father and a son. Some men are executed for sodomy, and one is burned – along with the cow – for bestiality. The most brutal execution method – breaking on the wheel – is used for habitual offenders; in one case Schmidt has to do his own brother-in-law this way, and is conscientious about it, taking 31 strokes. The initial essay on justice in 16th century Germany, by Calvert, notes that there was no CSI Nuremberg and the only way to get a conviction was to catch the perpetrator in the act or get a confession; in that regard they had ways of making you talk – the rack, the thumbscrews, the boot, etc. If you managed to last through this, they pretty much had to let you go, although you might not be in very good shape. There were some lesser punishments – branding, loss of a hand, flogging out of town, the galleys (Nuremberg had a contract with Genoa to take galley slaves). Nuremberg is chided by an adjacent polity for being too lenient on criminals and the town fathers indignantly reply that they would rather let ten guilty go than punish one innocent. No references or bibliography, although some relevant works are mentioned in the text. Contemporary woodcut illustrations. geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
Onderdeel van de uitgeversreeks(en)
From 1573 to 1617, Master Franz Schmidt was the executioner for the towns of Bamberg and Nuremberg. During that span, he personally executed more than 350 people while keeping a journal throughout his career. A Hangman's Diary is not only a collection of detailed writings by Schmidt about his work, but also an account of criminal procedure in Germany during the Middle Ages. With analysis and explanation, editor Albrecht Keller and translators C. Calvert and A. W. Gruner have put together a masterful tome that sets the scene of execution day and puts you in Master Franz Schmidt's shoes as he does his duty for his country. Originally published more than eighty years ago, A Hangman's Diary gives a year-by-year breakdown on all of Master Schmidt's executions, which include hangings, beheadings, and other methods of murder, as well as explanations of each crime and the reason for the punishment. An incredible classic, A Hangman's Diary is more than a history lesson; it shows the true anarchy that inhabited our world only a few hundred years ago. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)364.6Social sciences Social problems and services; associations Criminology PunishmentLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
Ben jij dit?Word een LibraryThing Auteur. Skyhorse PublishingEen editie van dit boek werd gepubliceerd door Skyhorse Publishing. |
There is nothing deep about the executioner Schmidt, as read from his diary. But it still puts what was perceived as high crime worthy of 16th Century capital punishment into perspective. A good book to draw from for the history reader or historical fiction writer. ( )