Not Just the Tudors

The "Spectacle of Suffering": A 16th Century Executioner

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Episode notes

The German executioner Meister Frantz Schmidt kept a fascinating journal of all the executions, torture and punishments he administered between 1573 and 1618. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Suzannah talks to Joel Harrington Schmidt - who showed himself to be an executioner with a conscience - and further explore public capital punishment in the 16th century, described by historians as the "spectacle of suffering." Contains graphic descriptions of punishments.  

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