What was the punishment for treason in England?
Q: What was the punishment for treason in England?
A: The punishment for treason in England was to be hanged, drawn and quartered.
Q: What did the full punishment consist of?
A: The full punishment consisted of being dragged on a wooden frame to the place of execution, hanged by the neck until almost dead, removed from hanging and placed on a table where their inner organs were removed, their head cut off and body hacked into four parts or quarters.
Q: How did they decide which parts of the body would be put on public display?
A: Typically, the five body parts (i.e. the four quarters of the body and the head) would be put on public display in different parts of the city or town as a deterrent to other potential traitors who had not seen the execution.
Q: Was it common for prisoners to suffer through all stages while alive?
A: Before 1814 when Crimes Act 1814 was passed by Parliament, prisoners usually suffered through all stages while alive; however after this act was passed they were only hanged until dead.
Q: How did judges deliver sentence at Old Bailey?
A: Judges delivering sentence at Old Bailey often summarized sentences as "Drawn, Hanged and Quartered" but sometimes recorded them quite explicitly with details about what should happen to each part of their bodies after death.
Q: What is meant by drawing in this context? A: Drawing can mean either dragging to place of execution or disembowelling - there is debate among modern historians about which meaning applies but documents detailing William Wallace's trial used two different words ("detrahatur" for dragging and "devaletur" for disembowelling), so it is likely that subjects were disembowelled during this punishment.
