The Scarlet Pimpernel

                The Guillotine conjures ideas of blood and gore to the modern thinker, but in 1789 France it was seen as a humane form of execution. Dr. Joseph Guillotin did not invent the guillotine, it had existed in other forms for hundreds of years prior; rather he insisted to the National Convention that it was the most human and equal way to kill all sentenced to death.

                In years before execution was far more grim, bloody and unsuccessful. The form of execution or “ritualistic mutilations” would usually base on the crime the criminal had committed. Heretics were either burned or drowned as a way to purify their damned souls or as a symbolic baptism. Murderers might have been hung- but not to break the neck, just to cut off oxygen; their bodies would flail for minutes and their bowels would usually fall out. One man convicted of assassinating a royal was covered in molten tin, boiling oil, and was torn to pieces by four horses pulling his limbs out of his body. Only the royals or aristocrats had a better fate, they could instead be beheaded. Unfortunately for them, unless the executioner was especially skilled, it took make his from an axe or sword before their heads were severed. With this context one can imagine why the guillotine was so accepted and humane.

                The Guillotine evened the playing field for royals and the poor alike- they were all executed in the same quick and effective manner. In fact some citizens thought their “National Razor” or “Madame Guillotine” was too quick and lacked the showmanship of other executions. The executions were considered a “theatrical ritual,” many watched and vied for the best seats. What the guillotine lacked in drama it made up for with its efficiency. We know at the very least 17,000 were killed in ten months, but 40,000 is probably a closer estimate. One estimate goes so far to say almost 300,000 were killed during the Reign of Terror, while that number is unlikely it does demonstrate the rashness in this period of time.

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