Hanging in Chains

The book surveys the history and practice of exposing condemned bodies in irons, examining ancient religious and cultural taboos about burial, classical and medieval precedents, and the legal uses of hanging, drawing, quartering, and gibbeting. It compares customs across Europe and colonies, recounts representative English cases and public reactions, and explains changing procedures, preparation of remains, and spectacle effects on communities. The author documents material evidence and illustrations—chains, irons, gibbets—and follows the legal evolution that reduced and finally abolished the practice, while providing antiquarian commentary and a catalogue of notable examples and artifacts.