Medieval Torture- Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hung, drawn and quartered was the penalty for high treason in medieval England, and remained on the statute book but seldom used in the United Kingdom and Ireland until abolished under the Treason Act of 1814. The process of this form of execution was as follows: 1) The convicted was dragged on a hurdle (a wooden frame) to the place of execution. (although this may not always have been implemented) 2) They are than hanged, by the neck, for a short time or until almost dead. 3) The convicted is strapped down and have their abdominal area sliced open, in which their bowels and genitals would be removed and burn before their eyes. 4) They are than beheaded by an axe 5) Their body is than divided into four sections (quartered) and, along with their head, put on public display in an attempt to deter people from committing treason. This method was only used on men (except in the Isle of Man). Women who were charged with high treason were instead burned at the stake. .... In this clip Thomas Culpepper and Francis Dereham are sent to be executed for high treason at the Tyburn gallows. Henry VIII commuted Culpeper's sentence to a simple beheading, though Dereham was not spared the full punishment for high treason
