A little while back, the subject here was the guillotine and it\u2019s rise to prominence during the French Revolution. I didn\u2019t mention that a famous couple were executed with the popular new execution tool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the French Revolution, the French masses were in revolt \u2014 their target was the nobility. King Louis XVI, who had formerly been the absolute monarch of France, was reduced in stature during the revolution and tried to flee the country with his wife, Marie Antoinette. They were unsuccessful in their attempt and didn\u2019t make it very far \u2014 the king was branded a traitor, so his trial was just a formality. The guilty verdict was never in doubt. Because the court proceedings dragged on and lacked any element of suspense, bored spectators in the gallery ate little snacks and passed around wine and brandy. Outside, at the local cafes, the disorderly crowd took bets on the outcome of the trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
King Louis XVI was sentenced to death by the guillotine after he was found to have been conspiring with other countries and engaging in counter-revolutionary acts \u2014 he was found guilty of treason. On the day of his execution, Louis XVI, who had become very \u201cportly,\u201d walked from his prison cell to a large green carriage. The possession, that included 1.200 guards, made its way to a huge square packed with spectators. His chubbiness, the king, was guided to the guillotine that was operated by Charles Sanson, the city executioner, whose father had preceded him in the office and whose son would follow him. Apparently the king had one too many French pastries over the years and when the blade came down, his neck was so fat that his head \u201cdid not fall at the first stroke.\u201d The crowd rushed forward to dip their handkerchiefs or pieces of paper into Louis\u2019 royal blood \u2014 I guess a perfect souvenir for such an important day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even before the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette, the Austrian-born queen, was the most hated person in France. She was known \u2014 and widely disliked \u2014 as a person with perverse, despicable habits. Some of which included plotting to starve the poor, sending money Austria (France\u2019s hated arch-rival,) and indulging her unquenchable sexual appetite for both men and women. The failed attempt to flee the country with the king only served to fuel the people\u2019s hatred and suspicion of their queen. Whether any of the charges levied against her were true or not really didn\u2019t matter. She was found guilty of treason just like her husband and condemned to death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nine months after Louis\u2019 death, Henri Sanson, the son of the man who pulled the rope on the king\u2019s guillotine entered Marie\u2019s cell and escorted her to a tumbril (a small cart used to carry political prisoners to the guillotine.) When climbing the scaffold, she stepped on the executioner\u2019s foot. She apologized, saying \u201cMonsieur, I beg your pardon. I did not do it on purpose.\u201d They were the last words she spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The guillotine remained France\u2019s state method of capital punishment well into the 20th century \u2014 the machine\u2019s 189-year reign only officially came to an end in September of 1981, when France abolished capital punishment for good.
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A little while back, the subject here was the guillotine and it\u2019s rise to prominence during the French Revolution. I didn\u2019t mention that a famous couple were executed with the popular new execution tool. During the French Revolution, the French … Continue reading