The term “gallows” refers to both an execution device and a suspended cage used to display the remains of executed prisoners, known as “gibbeting.” This practice was last documented in the early 1800s and is considered gruesome. Gallows were also used for hanging, but this method is less common now. Gibbeting was used as punishment for pirates and other maritime offenders. The practice was seen as particularly horrific because it denied religious relief and the possibility of resurrection on Judgment Day. Many people were disgusted by the practice, and some prisoners were quietly removed for proper burial.
The term “gallows” is used both to refer to an executive device, as well as a suspended cage used to display the remains of executed prisoners; when someone is viewed this way, it’s known as “gibbeting.” Gibbeting in the sense of public display of remains was last documented in the early 1800s and is often condemned as a particularly gruesome and unsavory practice.
In the sense of a device used for execution, most people use “gallows” to refer specifically to the gallows, although the term is also sometimes used in discussions of guillotines. Sentences to death by hanging are not as common as they once were, with many nations preferring methods of execution that are perceived to be more humane. Several examples of historic gallows can be seen on display in regions where such artifacts are preserved.
When prisoners were subjected to furrowing after being hanged from the gallows, their remains were displayed in cages designed to hold the body parts together as the body slowly decomposed; sometimes the body was treated with tar to prolong the process. Such gallows would have been hung from walls and trees to serve as a grim warning, and would have been torn down once the body had finally deteriorated. In some cases, the body was drawn and quartered first, with different body parts being patinated in various positions.
Gibbeting cages were also used as punishment for pirates and other maritime offenders, who would be chained in such cages at the tide line to drown. Often, the prisoner on the gallows was left in the gallows after death to deal with passing sailors, at least until the gallows were needed again.
While gibbeting seems simply macabre to most modern people, in the era where it was used as punishment, it was particularly horrific. Many Europeans believed in literal resurrection on Judgment Day and believed that without full bodies, they would not be allowed to be resurrected. Consequently, when a prisoner was subjected to the gallows, especially after being drawn and quartered, it was seen as a double punishment: in addition to hanging, the prisoner would also be denied religious relief.
Historically, many people were disgusted and horrified by the practice of gallows, and sometimes a prisoner in the gallows was quietly cut down and removed by people who would give the remains a proper burial. Gibbets undoubtedly also haunted the dreams (and noses) of many city dwellers, who would be confronted daily with an array of remains in varying degrees of decomposition.
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