ABSTRACT
“Death penalty, that is, if it is a lesser noble or an honourable citizen, let him be decapitated and if he is other, let him be hung”. The application of the sentence in the streets was preceded by a town crier, who announced the execution as a call for justice: “he did the call for the justice”. To carry out the sentence, the figure of the executioner was essential—“botxinus sive morredevaques”. This person was in charge of applying all physical punishment, whether capital or corporal: “Executioner to do the justices”. The local government decided the number of people employed in the trade and in 1467, defined the salary—a “taxation of 24 pounds which were charged for said executioners for supporting their lives”, travelling around the towns in the city’s area of influence. The journey from the prison to the place of execution was accompanied by a degrading uproar among the populace.
