billwill
Friday 16th September 2022 12:11am [Edited]
North London
6,162 posts
Quote: lofthouse @ 14th September 2022, 1:53 PM
Wrong
Don't you people watch QI ?
The drawing part doesn't refer to the imasculating and eviscerating part
The criminal was 'drawn' to his place of execution- usually being pulled by a horse whilst strapped to a wooden frame
Actually there's seems to be evidence for both meanings of 'drawn' - but I'll go with Stephen Fry if it's all the same....
I've seen Steven Fry say with complete confidence that Satellite Navigation works by the device sending a signal up to the satellite which then responds with the position information. Complete Bollocks.
But it seems you might be right on the Drawn stuff, though in that case why isn't it referred to as "Drawn, Hung and Quartered" Seems like somebody has been rewriting history.
However see: https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/hanging-drawing-quartering-what-why-treason-disembowelment/
What happens when you are hanged, drawn and quartered?
Being hanged, drawn and quartered was a multi-pronged process of torture and humiliation, performed in front of large, eager crowds.
First, the condemned man was dragged to their place of execution by horse, perhaps while lashed to hurdle, leaving them covered with painful lacerations before the real agony had even begun. This is one possible meaning of the 'drawn', as in drawn by the horse - more on the second possible meaning in a moment.
The second step was hanging: the condemned having a rope tied around the neck before being yanked off the ground, sometimes by use of a pulley. There he would dangle and thrash around helplessly until just before the moment he fell into unconsciousness, at which point he was lowered to the ground and disembowelled in front of the horrified yet morbidly fascinated audience.
This is the second possible meaning of 'drawn' - there is a debate amongst historians as to the definition of the term. It could, perhaps, refer to both actions. According to the Chronicle of Lanercost - a history of northern England covering parts of 13th and first half of the 14th centuries - the famed Scottish rebel William Wallace, who was executed in this way suffered the further indignity of having his entrails burned in front of him.
Finally, the unfortunate victim was quartered. Sometimes, this was achieved by tying each limb to a different horse, which were then startled into running in different directions so as to rip the body apart. The sundered corpse was then then displayed on city gates across the country - popular sites for the head included London Bridge and Westminster Hall - to serve both as a warning to would-be traitors and an advertisement of the consequences of betraying your sovereign.