Författare: Michelle Spear Professor of Anatomy University of Bristol

After their infamous plot to destroy parliament was foiled, Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators received one of the most severe judicial sentences in English history: hanging, drawing and quartering. According to the Treason Act 1351, this punishment involved:

That you be drawn on a hurdle to the place of execution, where you shall be hanged by the neck and being alive cut down, your privy members shall be cut off and your bowels taken out and burned before you, your head severed from your body and your body divided into four quarters to be disposed of at the King’s pleasure.

This process aimed not only to inflict excruciating pain on the condemned, but to serve as a deterrent – demonstrating the fate of those who betrayed the Crown. While Fawkes reportedly jumped from the gallows – which meant he avoided the full extent of his punishment – his co-conspirators apparently weren’t so lucky.

By dissecting each stage of this medieval punishment from an anatomical perspective, we can understand the profound agony each of them endured.

Torture for confession

Before his public execution on January 31 1606, Fawkes was tortured to force a confession about his involvement in the “gunpowder plot”.

The Tower of London records confirm that King James I personally authorised “the gentler tortures first”. Accounts reveal that Fawkes was stretched on the rack – a device designed to slowly pull the limbs in opposite directions. This stretching inflicted severe trauma on the shoulders, elbows and hips, as well as the spine.

The forces exerted by the rack probably exceeded those required for joint or hip dislocation under normal conditions.

Substantive differences between Fawkes’ signatures on confessions between November 8 and shortly before his execution may indicate the amount of nerve and soft tissue damage sustained. It also illustrates how remarkable his final leap from the gallows was.

The rack slowly pulled a prisoner’s limbs in opposite directions.
Wellcome Collection/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Stage 1: hanging (partial strangulation)

After surviving the torture of the rack, Fawkes and his gang faced the next stage of their punishment: hanging. But this form of hanging only partially strangled the condemned – preserving their consciousness and prolonging their suffering.

Partial strangulation exerts extreme pressure on several critical neck structures. The hyoid bone, a small u-shaped structure above the larynx, is prone to bruising or fracture under compression.

Simultaneously, pressure on the carotid arteries restricts blood flow to the brain, while compression of the jugular veins causes pooling of blood in the head – probably resulting in visible haemorrhages in the eyes and face.

Because the larynx and trachea (both essential for airflow) are partially obstructed, this makes breathing laboured. Strain on the cervical spine and surrounding muscles in the neck can lead to tearing, muscle spasms or dislocation of the vertebra – causing severe pain.

Fawkes brought his agony to a premature end by leaping from the gallows. Accounts from the time tell us:

His body being weak with the torture and sickness, he was scarce able to go up the ladder – yet with much ado, by the help of the hangman, went high enough to break his neck by the fall.

This probably caused him to suffer a bilateral fracture of his second cervical vertebra, assisted by his own bodyweight – an injury known as the “hangman’s fracture”.

Stage 2: Drawing (disembowelment)

After enduring partial hanging, the victim would then be “drawn” – a process which involved disembowelling them while still alive. This act mainly targeted the organs of the abdominal cavity – including the intestines, liver and kidney, as well as major blood vessels such as the abdominal aorta.

The physiological response to disembowelment would have been immediate and severe. The abdominal cavity possesses a high concentration of pain receptors – particularly around the membranous lining of the abdomen. When punctured, these pain receptors would have sent intense pain signals to the brain, overwhelming the body’s capacity for pain management. Shock would soon follow due to the rapid drop in blood pressure caused by massive amounts of blood loss.

Stage 3: quartering (dismemberment)

Quartering was also supposed to be performed while the victim was still alive. Though no accounts exist detailing at what phase victims typically lost consciousness during execution, it’s highly unlikely many survived the shock of being drawn.

So, at this stage, publicity superseded punishment given the victim’s likely earlier demise. Limbs that were removed from criminals were preserved by boiling them with spices. These were then toured around the country to act as a deterrent for others.

Though accounts suggest Fawkes’s body parts were sent to “the four corners of the United Kingdom”, there is no specific record of what was sent where. However, his head was displayed in London.

Traitor’s punishment

The punishment of hanging, drawing and quartering was designed to be as anatomically devastating as it was psychologically terrifying. Each stage of the process exploited the vulnerabilities of the human body to create maximum pain and suffering, while also serving as a grim reminder of the consequences of treason.

This punishment also gives us an insight into how medieval justice systems used the body as a canvas for social and political messaging. Fawkes’s fate, though unimaginable today, exemplifies the extremes to which the state could, and would, go to maintain control, power and authority over its subjects.

The sentence of hanging, drawing and quartering was officially removed from English law as part of the Forfeiture Act of 1870. Läs mer…

Throughout accounts of 17th-century witch trials in Europe and North America, physical features alone were considered undeniable proof of witchcraft. The belief was that the devil branded witches’ bodies with symbolic, material marks – such as unusual growths or blemishes. This led to routine bodily inspections in witch trials. The discovery of such marks was thought to be strong medical and scientific evidence of witchcraft and frequently sealed the victim’s fate.

Here are just some of the anatomical features that historically would have been used to label someone a witch:

Are you a woman?

While men were occasionally accused of witchcraft, historical witch hunts overwhelmingly targeted women – particularly women who led an independent lifestyle (such as widows and spinsters) or who were outspoken and didn’t conform to societal norms. Historians estimate that more than 75% of those accused of witchcraft in the 16th and 17th centuries were female.

Religious teachings at the time reinforced the idea that women were morally weaker and therefore more susceptible to temptation and sin.

By this standard, if you identify as female today, you are one of approximately 3.95 billion potential “witches”.

How old are you?

Age was another factor in witch trials. Older women, especially those past childbearing age, were frequently suspected of witchcraft – particularly if they were a widow, owned property or lived alone.

Records suggest that more than half of those accused of witchcraft in Scotland between 1563-1736 were over 40 years old. At this time, the average life expectancy was around 32 years of age.

Today, with around 1.4 billion women globally over 40, many more might have found themselves under similar suspicion by historical standards.

Do you have an extra nipple?

The “witch’s teat” was a common trait witch-hunters used to identify someone as being a witch. This extra nipple was thought to be used by witches to nurse so-called demonic familiars – often imagined to be small animals or imps. Witch-hunters would examine the chest or torso for any irregularity and classify it as a witch’s teat.

In reality, supernumerary nipples (or polythelia) are benign. These form during early embryonic development and in some people do not fully disappear.

Another feature sometimes mistaken for a supernumerary teat was the clitoris. Historical accounts suggest that women were sometimes convicted based on the size of this body part. Pamphlets from the time, which describe the process of identifying a “witches’ teat,” often mention a small protrusion located near a woman’s “fundament” or “privy place” – euphemisms for a woman’s genitals.

It’s estimated that around 5% of the world’s population have at least one extra nipple. They appear more often on the left-hand side of the chest and are more common in men. Harry Styles, who has openly discussed having four nipples, would perhaps have been far less inclined to share this detail about himself in the 17th century.

Do you have a birthmark?

Any type of birthmark or skin discolouration could be labelled as a “devil’s mark” in the 17th century. Matthew Hopkins, the infamous “witchfinder general”, considered any unusual spot, freckle or birthmark a sign of a pact with the devil. Witch-hunters would often prick these marks with pins, believing that a true devil’s mark would not bleed or cause pain.

Port wine stain birthmarks are more likely to occur in girls.
Khosro/ Shutterstock

Around 80% of people today are born with some form of birthmark – making it a surprisingly common trait for so-called witches.

Pigmented birthmarks, such as moles or café au lait spots (flat, light-coloured birthmarks) result from clusters of pigmented cells that form during development. Vascular types, such as port wine stains (which are flat and red or purple in colour), are due to malformations in tiny blood vessels near the surface of the skin. Port wine stain birthmarks appear in only about 0.3% of children – but are twice as likely to occur in girls.

Do you have a mole or skin tag?

Moles and skin tags were also seen as possible devil’s marks. Witch-hunters would also test moles by attempting to cut or prick them. Like with birthmarks, if they didn’t bleed it meant that the person was thought to be a witch.

Today, we know that moles are simply clusters of pigmented cells, while skin tags are small, harmless growths that form when the skin rubs against itself. Yet in the 17th century, these innocent marks spelled disaster.

Do you have an extra digit?

Polydactyly, or having an extra finger or toe, was another rare but suspicious trait. An extra digit was seen as a supernatural deviation – alleged to enhance a witch’s powers as a “gift” from the devil.

In reality, polydactyly is a harmless genetic mutation – affecting about one in every 500-1,000 births. But in the past, this rare trait placed those who had it under scrutiny in witch-hunting societies.

Do you have red hair?

Red hair, an unusual trait, was considered ominous in certain regions – especially Europe. Some theories suggest that red hair’s rarity and association with a fiery temperament or pagan ancestry contributed to its stigmatisation. The notorious Malleus Maleficarum (“Hammer of Witches”), the 1468 treatise about witchcraft, warned of redheads as potential witches, linking them to “tempting powers” and “wild spirits”.

Today, less than 2% of the global population has red hair – though around 6% of people carry some red hair genetics. But in the 17th century, this uncommon trait may have increased suspicion that someone was a witch.

So, are you a witch?

If you have none of these traits, you would probably have been safe from early modern witch-hunters. But if you had at least one of these anatomical features, you may have had suspicions levelled against you.

Fortunately, all UK Witchcraft Acts were repealed in 1951 – which means these common features are now just anatomical quirks and nothing more. Läs mer…