The Golden and Ghoulish Age of the Gibbet in Britain by Sarah Tarlow

Author:Sarah Tarlow
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK, London

The Necessary Functions of a Gibbet

What functions must an effective set of irons fulfil? First, it must contain the body and prevent it from either falling out or being removed, while at the same time still maximising its visibility. In order to do this, most gibbet cages were designed to fit closely to the body, allowing as much as possible of the body to be seen, while ensuring that the gaps between bars were too small to remove it. When possible, the prisoner was measured for his irons before execution, but there were other means of ensuring a close fit, notably construction with punched straps and hoops that could be adjusted to size by riveting (Fig. 2.8). Bodies in advanced decay would necessarily have fallen through the framework in pieces, although the skull, if unbroken, might remain in the headpiece, as in the case of John Breeds at Rye or Sion y Gôf at Dylife (Fig. 2.9). In addition, small pieces of the body could easily be removed by animals or birds. However, by adding to the horror of the gibbeted body, such removals did not diminish the power of the spectacle. In fact, the power of carrion birds around the gibbet to augment the horror was exploited in artistic depictions of the gibbet (Fig. 2.10).

Fig. 2.8Multiple punches holes on John Keal’s gibbet (photo: Sarah Tarlow)

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