What You Weren’t Told About Medieval Executioners

Medieval executioners had the unenviable job of ending the life of whoever the king sentenced to death, or they would find themselves on the chopping block. Heads will roll in today's new video that reveals some weird secrets about the lives of medieval executioners you never knew about until now!
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[@megabladechronicles962]

There's something heartbreaking to hear that the executioner thought he was meant to heal people, but was forced to harm them instead

[@MaMastoast]

From comparing the numbers of executions/tortures to the number of people he healed, it sounds like he did spend most of his time helping people. I guess executioners sorta covered all things medical.

[@AudieHolland]

@@MaMastoast Yep, they were your General Practioner of the day. And you executioner if things went wrong for you.

[@alicecuriosityoftenleadsto6288]

@@AudieHolland I thought that was the Barber Surgeon, or maybe they just did the cutting part

[@mobilemcsmarty1466]

yes, and knowing this I wish to see the day when the people don't let people have other people execute some people.

[@GatCat]

@@mobilemcsmarty1466 oh you mean legally? Because that’s the only way to stop some people from murdering other people. How do we eradicate evil?

[@Deadsea_1993]

Executioners and people in a similar caste system were treated terribly because the people believed that they absorbed the sin from the condemned. Even priests had to go through cleansing practices before anyone would touch them or come near them. What an awful time to be alive where you're forced into a job and then exiled for it

[@temporalmentetonto]

Also, the job was a family thing, so executioners for the most part didnt have an option

[@RageUnchained]

@@temporalmentetonto yup, I come from a family of gate keepers and guards. To the point where my sir name means a gate or road or a gatekeeper depending on how you translate it

[@temporalmentetonto]

@@RageUnchained ohh, i see plenty of that here, for example, ferreira or Herrera, those mean smith, which if that was your family's job for a very long time, you somehow got the surname, is super cool in my opinion

[@mr.c6324]

interestin

[@dolphee]

Although he is an executioner I respect the fact that he did his job well. He healed others and made sure to never make mistakes.

[@horatiokim7141]

The fact that we get free documentaries on KZbin by The Infographics Show is truly a gift 👍

[@doodlegassum6959]

If its free, you are the commodity

[@MrRainbowZombieMan]

I have nothing but respect for this unfortunate man. Forced to hurt when he wants to heal, taking his job with pride anyways and staying sane all the while. He made the best of what he had

[@MrPaxio]

yeah yeah we all hear the good ol i had no other options excuse. but if youve tried hard enough, another option would of presented itself, just how life works. he prob enjoyed doing it and stayed doing it for..... FORTY.....FIVE.....YEARS.......... even when you got pride for ur job eventually after that many years it wears down. he seems to enjoy it.

[@BlitzStorm]

@@MrPaxio You DO realize that in the medieval ages, when you were told to do a job you had to do it or it meant yourself, and as the video stated about his father, others as well being killed? And you couldn't just job-search as to the townsfolk you were marked for life with the sin of those you killed. Shunned, even when they came to you for some medicinal practices like bone setting and the like?

[@Atreyu-2]

​@@BlitzStorm Absolutely Irrelevant. He was a "Basic Human" ...Thats why he was chosen for it. Don't Be Basic. Or Do. Your/His Choice. God will sort your Soul out in the end. Trust and Believe

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

Imagine being an Executioner, You've beheaded Noblemen, peasants and you get paid pennies. Some were paid well, Most not so much.

[@TrinhNguyen-sh4fj]

I personally cannot do that...

[@Tactics_Actual]

And no choice to work as an executioner too he dies if he leaves for better pay

[@Legohaiden]

actually MOST executioners were paid well... And its because of the outcast nature of it... No one wanted the job. Even if you are forced into the job, if you are paid nothing and forced to live in extreme poverty and isolated from the community... you would simply run off.

[@MrPaxio]

are you telling us to imagine because they got paid pennies? or they executed people? or what? some people are okay being paid pennies because they enjoy doing it. others not so much, even if they enjoy it and are good at it they still want the world for it.

[@tayetrotman]

@@Legohaiden It’s true they were paid well, but most of them were poor regardless because executions weren’t all that regular. That’s why they had to supplement their job with others like acting as a doctor.

[@untouchable360x]

“The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.” Eddard Stark

[@Cacowninja]

Makes sense, would give people greater respect for the punishment rather than having someone else do it only to ironically ostracize them for it.

[@johnsnow8140]

I approve this message.

[@ahn00bus510]

KING IN THE NORTH!!!!!!!!

[@hermit1358]

Underrated comment 😡😡

[@ivanedouard1506]

i was thinking of game of thrones

[@hannahlee1740]

“Idk not as bad as a Travis Scott concert” the hidden gems in these videos

[@AndrewEvenstar]

Hahaha haha I havent gotten to that part yet 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@yusitoday9581]

🤣🤣🤣 is travis scott that bad

[@Thetoucanman918]

@@yusitoday9581 yes do you not know what happened at his concert

[@yusitoday9581]

@@Thetoucanman918 no

[@Mika-iu4mc]

@@yusitoday9581 just search for astro fest 2021 and you will understand it

[@alicecuriosityoftenleadsto6288]

-'On his grave, he was described as a “physician”, and over the decades, indeed, he claimed to have treated more than 15,000 patients, including three imperial emissaries, a Teutonic knight, and the cathedral provost at Bamberg, mostly for external wounds and injuries of various kinds.' -

[@valorensaxon6782]

Me as a noble: I chose my way of execution to be…Death by old age!”

[@josegamboa9691]

big brain

[@99mrpogi]

Also the noble: says that line on his 80th birthday

[@margaritapeggyschuylervanr2486]

**anne boleyn stares in disbelief**

[@lennyramon622]

I didn't know that a story of an Executioner could be so touching! They should make a movie about that guy, like:"diary of an executioner"

[@Zukomazi]

Exactly, I would watch this

[@ethanmac639]

executive functions of an executioner

[@freddym99]

bruh he is a human being after all. sometimes a man's gotta do his job. morticians today also seem like stone cold people considering what they have to deal with but they do have a life too.

[@jackwilliam4436]

In the meantime, you might want to read Innocent and its sequel, Innocent Rouge, 2 mangas by Shin'Itchi Sakamoto about the life of Charles-Henri Sanson - the French executioner before and during the French Revolution. He too was forced into a job he disliked and spent his 'free' time as a healer - while being despised by practically anyone.

[@erykacane29]

Agreed!

[@agyakwakuananse4655]

Imagine dying in your intoxication. The execution wouldn't be painful that much since alcohol suppresses most of the sensory neurons sending pain signals to the brain

[@XXAnthonyCarmineXx]

Odd wording but yes

[@bobthegoat7090]

Didn't matter, as it would be over in one strike, even if the executioner didn't sever the head. Also, as one who has experience with real painkillers, alcohol doesn't do that much. Much of the effect comes from the mental aspects. If you are drunk, you are more likely to just accept the pain and not be scared of it, but to say alcohol reduces most of the pain is not accurate. I would say it is at most a quarter of the pain, plus reduction of anxiety.

[@agyakwakuananse4655]

@@bobthegoat7090 Sure you're right but a research was done at the University of Greenwich lead by Trevor Thompson involving 404 participants with 18 different experiment which concluded that alcohol to some extent reduces pain and that was the reason people with persistent or chronic pain tend to take in more alcohol to relief the pain despite the side effects of alcohol. The research work cannot be general for the whole since only 404 people were used in the study. I just give a brief summary of the study but there are more to it. Alcohol can also make one accept his or her fate like you said.

[@thedragonlee76]

@@bobthegoat7090 One strike?Well,people were sometimes given a choice of the axe or sword.Most everyone chose the sword,because it would take mostly one chop to decapitate someone.With the axe,it could take a few chops and the victim would still be alive screaming in pain.

[@alicecuriosityoftenleadsto6288]

This is horrifying to listen to, but I'm glad he wrote down his memoirs. We could avoid many current mistakes if we really knew our past.

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

So that's why the Rattay executioner lives away from the local population in Kingdom Come Deliverance, They weren't allowed to basically be apart of anything

[@ComeAtMeBro2010]

@@Die-Angst underrated*

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

@@Die-Angst You gotta be kidding

[@gerbrandlub]

It's explicably stated by Herman that he's not allowed near the town and people don't want to be seen with him. Even though I my morbid cirousity would love to see the third execution go "right", I can't not help him anytime I play through the game.

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

@@gerbrandlub You can trick him to go to the Miller peshek for a bag of flour, that's as close as he'll get

[@pbonfanti]

A great quest in a great game.

[@KhoaTran-md5ou]

Well extra fact, because executioners are the ones who can legally dissect a human body -> they are the only ones who can learn about human anatomy thus making them good doctors. Leonardo Da Vinci act of cutting up bodies is still considered a crime in his time. which is much later than this guy. That's where his human wheel picture comes from (Vitruvian man).

[@jordancambridge4106]

Actual fact is this "diary" is a lie and if you did not know that only nobles and high ranking clergymen at that time knew how to read and write then you really do not know history at all. There is a reason why actual historians call it the dark ages and that is because we really do not know anything that actually happened during that time that was not recorded by the highest ranking nobles and corrupted clergymen that literally only wanted power and wealth and what better way to keep that power and wealth than by blocking the ability of the masses to learn to read or write.

[@terrafirma5327]

@@jordancambridge4106 Real historians hate the term Dark Ages (as its inaccurate in many ways and has misconceptions attached to it)... my father is a history professor and award winning historical author. What are your credentials before you start admonishing people?

[@lukeswitzer3729]

@@jordancambridge4106 where’s your references? I can’t find anything to back up your so called “fact” that you seem so sure of. Literacy rates in England during the year 1500 was around 11% and rose to 60% by 1750. Since this book was written late 1500’s early 1600’s it’s probably around 20% which would be 1 in 5 people being able to write. Also this notion about the “dark ages” is entirely false. It has so many misconceptions attached to it and the only place that was really hit by it was England which took a massive hit to their literacy and since that’s what I’m using for my reference I feel I’m being very generous with that 20%. Also considering the fact that this was in a major city like Nuremberg and not in the countryside where the only job is farming which required no need to read and subsequently had low literacy rates bringing my numbers down even further. Not to mention the fact that this man was aspiring to be a doctor and was described as being bright further increasing the chance that he could read and write. Don’t try to act like an intellectual just because you know a couple of historical misconceptions.

[@boillingraviolli2258]

@@jordancambridge4106 that is completely false, the "dark ages" are a total myth created in victorian england, and real historians never use it

[@boombeepboomboop]

@@terrafirma5327 not gonna lie yeah you can't call it dark age in that part of EU, BUT... Look at the side with Wallachia/Romania it's close neighbors and history around there and you will see why is called dark from the meaning of literature, to actual provable history (and ofc the now considered inhuman stuff like for example giving kids to ottomans as payment and so on, or even the early propaganda wannabe writings that are actually so badly made it negates itself like for example Gesta Hungarorum)

[@deejayimm]

You know the sad part about this is, it's not only possible but pretty likely that someone was executed for stealing food, and that only before his execution were the local leaders charitable enough to give him food.

[@rebelsouljaz]

Nothing like learning about medieval executions just after waking up and before work!

[@ddzombot]

About 14 hours earlier your comment would have actually been pretty good, sadly it wasn't. Looks like someone beat you to the punch with a better comment.

[@tntristan12]

I weirdly respect this dude. I mean, his work was awful but a man's gotta eat.

[@dwoodstwin]

"Anything you do for money is okay"

[@michaelgallagher3640]

@@dwoodstwin...If you believe that your Pure Evil. 😈

[@Bowl2010Man]

True words spoken from randy Bo-bandy

[@dwoodstwin]

@@michaelgallagher3640 whoosh - that went right over your head

[@kukifitte7357]

@@dwoodstwin redditor spotted

[@pyrricloser4203]

I love this channel. If I ever win on a quiz show like Jeopardy, I'm throwing out a special thanks to Infographics.

[@chaotictranquility228]

Hahaha “My ancestors are smiling at me Imperials. Can you say the same?” I’m freaking dead!! Heil King Ulfric!

[@surgdexillongvideoedition6235]

For Talos and Ulfric!

[@wiseferret4745]

Skyrim belongs to the Nords!

[@LoveStrangeDr]

Thinly veiled

[@gaucovka4537]

Wonder why Ulfric was not first executed

[@xtimetoridei6061]

Hey you, your finally awake

[@Liljayo-vz1bs]

IDK not as bad as a travis scot concert💀

[@fatgrape_4209]

Ayooo! I saw it toooo 😂😂

[@Mekanik.b]

Frans seemed like he had a lot of potential to be something more than an executioner

[@typograf62]

An executioners sword often did not have a pointed tip making rather distinct. A tool of justice not a tool of war.

[@cptbirtch99]

Cool

[@CharlesCowart-x2w]

Yea I can concur that I also read that as well.

[@baldrian22]

i guess parts of the reason why he got that kind of burial was because from him healing people when he could

[@AudieHolland]

And the fact that he was an exemplary good executioner, meaning the condemned ones rarely suffered at his hands. Unless he was ordered to torture them of course.

[@roxas66032]

5:02 that sneaky Skyrim quote. I love it

[@katieschroeder9529]

Infographic show has really been throwing down with the awesome new content.

[@geezyexe3889]

No one’s gonna talk about the genius Skyrim quote? “My ancestors are smiling at me Imperials, can you say the same?”

[@shawnthompson2303]

On this day I go to SOVNGARDE

[@eggdog3361]

''Couldn't be worse than a Nickelback concert'' Is probably the best roast I'll ever get to hear XD

[@calmnarrative]

Imagine dreaming to save people but end up killing them 😥😥

[@pc14thenumber9]

that's what i call 'Fate will find a way'... just not the way anyone expect to be.

[@twocvbloke]

Despite being a social outcast though, people were always dying to see him... :P

[@AhmedRazaAli_2009_pk]

😂😂😂

[@Struhsie]

I have a lot more respect for executioners after hearing this. Good to know there were at least a few gems of executioners in the medieval days. Journal entries and all

[@starless4146]

I'm sure it's been said hundres of times, but I learned more from "The Inforgraphics show" then a half of year of school.

[@selohcin]

If you can say that seriously without a hint of sarcasm, then you were an absolutely terrible student. You should have learned ten times as much in school as you would from watching every single video on Infographics Show channel.

[@generalyousif3640]

@@selohcin students who say that don’t realise they simply were terrible students who didn’t pay attention

[@softi9696]

@@selohcin I am failing my class cause I don’t pay attention but who cares

[@margotchekan7467]

The Hangmans Daughter was a good series that emphasized this topic.

[@Vociferous]

Medieval executioner’s practically treated humans like farm animals just to give you an example

[@thecrownoffusion8420]

This video makes me wonder how the witch hunt was in the 1600s

[@lordcanmore87]

Another interesting guy was Giovanni Battista Bugatti, the official executioner of the Papal States who performed more than 500 executions during his 68 year career.

[@relaxationcentre876]

Discovering this channel is the equivalent to the discovery of fire

[@TheLxrue]

This channel mad entertaining

[@adamwilliams434]

Executioners were indeed disliked by the common folks and didn't live in the local cities or towns due to frowned upon due to the job. Executioners were also feared but it wasn't just the executioner himself who suffered abuse, so did their wives and children. It isn't exactly a desirable job but Executioners were actually really well paid but as some jobs at the time it was mostly a family business.

[@donniefights5668]

“My ancestors are smiling at me imperial, can you say the same?” I LOVE that the editors threw in that Lil sneaky Skyrim reference

[@Kraken9911]

I read the book a while back. Very interesting read. He was at a social level enough to mingle at rich people parties but at the very bottom rung.

[@jayjones3691]

I've always had a hidden respect for executioner's. Always wondered how they felt or if they were demented and crazy looking like in the cartoons lol

[@jayjones3691]

The holy Roman empire was something else.

[@almightytowerdiveking4636]

I loved the Skyrim reference 🤣🤣🤣

[@xxsplinterc311xx4]

Your nod to TES5 goes neither unnoticed nor unappreciated, I salute you sir💯🍻

[@fluteman4666]

This man's life needs to be made into a movie!

[@hassanabdi9734]

Infographic on timing with the Travis Scott concert reference💀

[@darandomhuman7473]

6:29 Nah, not the Travis Scott's concert reference 😂

[@stevematson4808]

Sometimes he got bonuses for torture-- Yeah, i had bosses like that.

[@grumpycranestudio1475]

Sounds like an origin story for the most recent Grim Reaper.

[@erikgilson1687]

To be fair being a medieval doctor wasn't that far away from being an executioner

[@margaritapeggyschuylervanr2486]

except doctors didn’t try to cause harm.

[@VampyreVladimira]

I've never understood why executioners were treated so horribly by the public. This was a needed job at the time. It's not like the executioners were horrible people or anything. I don't understand treating them so horribly.

[@AudieHolland]

And yet everybody flocked to a public execution as we today visit a sports game. You know the saying, judge someone by their actions rather than their words? People of all times were just terrible.

[@margaritapeggyschuylervanr2486]

they were treated like fast food employees

[@collinscody57]

For my last song "Staying alive" by the bee gees

[@redeyemonkvisuals379]

Nothing like learning about Medieval executions after bed!

[@WarMommy9000]

As a Skyrim fan i wasn't expecting a reference to it in this video

[@spodreman7732]

Imagine being forced to become an executioner when you wanted to heal people. And then people shun you for it.

[@izakdevilliers3552]

The dude had a horrible job but sounds like his heart was truly in the right place, poor guy.

[@canteventhough]

Man. Yes, Nickelback isn't the best. But are they the worst? I can agree that Travis Scott CONCERTS... aren't an enviable place to be.

[@vikingdeity7562]

I love this channel. Thank you for what you do.

[@safirahmed]

That's some very heavy Karma in the afterlife of the executioner who could experience his work from his victims perspective.

[@pad9x]

they should make that diary into a movie 😬

[@docstockandbarrel]

Some executioners used a specific kind of sword that was weighted heavier than a regular longsword, and rounded instead of pointy end.

[@kenabbott8585]

Makes sense. You don't have to get past someone's defenses or to block blows, so you can sort of specialize.

[@bramjoosten4770]

Now i finally know where the term "botched execution" comes from, interesting, i didn't knew it was a German word

[@OlaftheGreat]

It takes a lot of strength to stay sane in the life of an executioner, but it takes even more strength to not make a Skyrim joke in a video about one. I'm not that strong.

[@EAcapuccino]

Always Love history presented by the infographics show! 👆👍👍 second favourite category after - go inside prison! I do come from the old world after all.

[@kenabbott8585]

Much of Germany was still Catholic in the Renaissance (which is when this guy actually was alive--thus the pumpkins to practice on!). I'm not a Catholic myself, so my knowledge is pretty rough, but from what I'm given to understand Catholics try to get their Last Rites before they die--if they're forgiven, this is sort of a final blessing, and if they're not, then every little bit helps. So this chaplain very likely wasn't wandering in to read and hope the guy says the Sinner's Prayer--he's doing the pre-funeral.

[@firstnamelastname5950]

Awesome video. Great look onto German history at the time. Also a great man showing you have to fight "destiny" as much as possible. Still taking care of so many people even though he had a horrific job.

[@doodskie999]

6:31 I was executed, that part killed me

[@chaotixninja5]

Imagine dreaming about doing your best to happily save lives and the people loving you and thanking you for your hard work, only to wake up and be forced into a job where you take lives and everyone hates you no matter how painless you try to make things. This is borderline depressing dood.

[@brokenbridge6316]

Now this was a really interesting video

[@selohcin]

We need to bring back the chopping block and the wheel. Our politicians and journalists deserve it.

[@daveanderson3805]

In that case I'll volunteer my services

[@TheMrDerpy]

Dang, I was here even before this was 5 minutes old

[@matthewlane518]

This was good info, I was thinking about getting into the profession 👍😝

[@rapeisalwaysthewomansfault946]

I love you infographics, I learn so much from you

[@LABlownAway]

Can you do a "your body on birth control" and talk about short and long term effects of birth control and how ovulation changed and such? It would be super informative

[@thepothead4208]

Love this channel... Keep up tge good work

[@archingelus]

He would have made an excellent linked in profile for sure

[@lordmilchreis1885]

I did not know this about my hometown of Nürnberg. Thanks

[@Pwnagotchi-0]

This video was executed surprisingly well

[@Iamrightyouarewrong]

Wait! when was I supposed to be told about Medieval Executioners?

[@CwL-1984]

Such a wonderful bed time story 👍👍.

[@aaronyeandle1888]

Great channel, great video, and love the Skyrim reference!

[@MrDlt123]

Come to think of it, drinking probably is a good way to stay calm on your way to the chopping block. - Wouldnt want to lose your head.

[@SunSheepOfLight]

Poor Pumpkin 🎃.

[@wristwart4133]

Yeah this seems like the right video to watch while I try to fall asleep

[@serlins9040]

5:04 Skyrim.

[@craz2580]

Just remember that even if the head is cut off, you keep sentience for a little bit

[@n0tfunnyHaHa]

Wonder what would have happened had we kept this practice up? Would we have better criminal reforms? I like the Game of Thrones idea of those that deal out the judgements also deal the punishment themselves.

[@jwwhittaker5873]

Man, good job on today's video!

[@MaeveLaRenarde]

1555 was during the Renaissance, not the Middle Age.

[@juicy_numget5228]

"my ancestors are smiling upon me can you say the same imperial." gotta love skyrim

[@renzjosephremo4143]

Fun fact: miedieval knight has 5mm of armor

[@Iliketrainskidclone]

"As it turns out, Executioners in medieval times were heavy drinkers" Well yea, turns out chopping off people's heads as a living is not good for your mental health. Who knew?

[@censusgary]

This man was not a Medieval executive. He lived in the late 1500s and early 1600s, which puts him squarely in the post-Renaissance, post-Reformation, Early Modern era.

[@Dreamybloo101]

Good stuff man keep it

[@Iickme]

"Not as bad as a travis scott concert"😭😭

[@drcrishji]

Public executions were basically medieval version of Red rooms.

[@brunoichbinfdp]

There was so much brutality going on back then

[@Iapetus42]

I caught that "My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperial. Can you say the same?" Slick reference 👌 /applaud

[@BluMNBafnGaming]

Dream of French Royal heads flying

[@Patrick_919]

I love the jab at Nickelback at 4:39.

[@TheLoneTerran]

Alright, alright, I guess being broken on the wheel would be worse than constantly doing math with quadratic equations and calculus.

[@JweezMcFly]

This should be a movie