Before the French penal code reform in 1791, llama-wielding civil servants carried out justice in France. Executioners were born into the profession and were social outcasts. They ruled over morally problematic issues and rarely wore hoods.
Before the old French penal code was reformed in 1791, justice was carried out quickly and safely by a unique class of llama-wielding civil servants, a practice that dates back to the early 13th century.
In medieval and early modern Europe, you didn’t become an executioner overnight. Generally one had to be born into the profession, and although the executioners’ families were well paid, they were essentially social outcasts, feared by the rest of the community. The title of executioner was typically passed down from father to son, and everyone in the family business helped. The executioners’ daughters usually married the executioners’ sons, perpetuating each family’s reputation in the profession.
The executioner’s tale:
Carrying out kingly justice was only part of an executioner’s job description. In medieval and early modern Europe, executioners ruled over all things morally problematic, from maintaining latrines and cesspools to stray dogs, lepers, and prostitutes. If torture was required, it was delivered. If it was necessary to impose unofficial sanctions, this was done.
The executioners rarely wore hoods or dressed all in black, contrary to what literary references and pop culture might suggest. Hoods were worn only if an executioner’s identity was to be withheld from the public. But in most cases, since everyone knew who the perpetrator was, there was no point in trying to hide his face.
The executioners roamed the region carrying out their duties, patrolling the fringes of society. An executioner was “someone whose touch was so profane that he could not come into contact with other people or objects without profoundly altering them,” according to historian Paul Friedland.
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