What is a scaffold and what was it used for?

In most countries, the death penalty is a thing of the past. But still there are stories about those who, on their own example, learned what a scaffold is.

Destination of the scaffold

Over the centuries, the execution of punishment was not only a way to implement a court decision, but also a public spectacle. Many people were going to be executed, including children. And in order for all those who came to see it better to see how justice is accomplished, they erected a wooden platform. It was he who became known as the scaffold.

As a rule, such a structure was erected just before the execution. Therefore, the prisoner could hear how sawing and piecing together boards for the platform, on which his life would break. Well, what is a scaffold, probably, it is already clear. However, one must take into account that the defendants were not always deprived of their lives. On the scaffold could, for example, whip or chop off one of the limbs, say, the hand (quite common in the old car for theft).

Anna Boleyn is a queen who died of a sword

During the years of the death penalty, many famous and even notable people were deprived of their lives . Among them were representatives of the authorities, for example, monarchs.

Perhaps the most famous queen, who knew what a scaffold is, was the English ruler Anna Boleyn, the mother of Queen Elizabeth I and the second wife of Henry VIII Tudor. Accused of treason and witchcraft, Anna was sentenced to death. Accompanied by the servant, she rose to the scaffold. The execution was quick. However, the history of Anna has acquired a lot of rumors and legends. Those who believe in ghosts still tell stories about the spirit of the unjustly condemned Queen Anne.

Marie Antoinette - the queen, who folded her head on the scaffold

Another well-known person who parted with life on the scaffold was the French Queen Marie Antoinette. The young ruler became one of the victims of the Great French Revolution.

The merry queen, without a twinge of conscience, was spending her state's money on various entertainments, she could not imagine how her life would end. During the years of the revolution, executions became so frequent that the executioners could not cope with their work. And then the guillotine was created . This method of execution was far better than the ax. Dr. Joseph Ignace Guillotin, who popularized the guillotine in Europe, was concerned that the victims in the last moments of life are very afflicted. And then he proposed a mechanism that cuts off the head with one blow. His something on himself and experienced the French royal family.

Many famous and not so people have learned what a scaffold is. Over time, this word has acquired a figurative meaning ("to ascend to the scaffold" - to bring yourself, your life as a sacrifice to anything), which in the modern world is used much more often.