Abstracts
Abstract
Public executions in early modern Europe were shocking spectacles designed to impress the crowds who witnessed them. They were a manifestation of justice and the power of the state and had an exemplary purpose, so they were conceived as performances with a theatrical dimension that sought to stimulate the senses of the public. As far as the prisoners were concerned, they were expected to accept their collective fate and not to panic during the ritual of punishment, and thus to die a good death. They could only achieve this by trying to suspend their senses and thereby cushion the impact of the spectacle of which they were the protagonists. Comforters and priests were in charge of helping and preparing prisoners in the hours leading up to the execution. In seeking to understand this tension between stimulation and inhibition of the senses, this article analyzes an extraordinary unpublished source on public executions in Valencia at the end of the eighteenth century: the sermons and exhortations of the priest Juan Gascó, who assisted those condemned to death in the city between 1787 and 1801.
Keywords:
- Death Penalty,
- Public Execution,
- Execution Sermon,
- Gallows,
- Juan Gascó
Résumé
Dans l’Europe des premiers temps modernes, les exécutions publiques étaient des spectacles choquants destinés à impressionner les foules qui y assistaient. Manifestation de la justice et du pouvoir de l’État, elles avaient une finalité exemplaire et étaient donc conçues comme des performances à dimension théâtrale, visant à stimuler les sens du public. Quant aux prisonniers, on attendait d’eux qu’ils acceptent leur destin collectif, ne paniquent pas pendant le rituel de la punition et meurent ainsi de leur belle mort. Ils ne pouvaient y parvenir qu’en essayant de suspendre leurs sens et d’amortir ainsi l’impact du spectacle dont ils étaient les protagonistes. Les consolateurs et les prêtres étaient chargés d’aider et de préparer les prisonniers dans les heures précédant l’exécution. Pour comprendre cette tension entre stimulation et inhibition des sens, cet article analyse une extraordinaire source inédite sur les exécutions publiques à Valence à la fin du XVIIIe siècle : les sermons et exhortations du prêtre Juan Gascó, qui a assisté les condamnés à mort dans la ville entre 1787 et 1801.
Mots-clés :
- Peine de mort,
- Exécution publique,
- Sermon,
- Échafaud,
- Juan Gascó
Appendices
Bibliography
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