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Ep 144: Executioners with DJ Guba
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The life, training, job, and medical practices of 16th c executioners were as bizarre as they are misunderstood. Join DJ Guba as he explains.
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How about correcting, at least on the transcript, that it was Charles I in 1649, not Charles II in the 1680’s, who was beheaded? Such a big mistake spoils the whole article.
Hello Sam! Thank you for listening to the show and I am glad to hear you enjoyed it! It is a fascinating conversation, certainly. All episodes here at That Shakespeare Life may, from time to time, contain errors. We are busy humans who get nervous on broadcasts, talk too fast, mispeak, mistype, and mislink sometimes, as I’m sure you do as well, on occasion, and can fully understand. I always appreciate it when listeners bring these missteps to our attention as we strive very hard to present accurate and reliable information. In this case, the guest is not precisely in error, but the quote from the episode does leave some information out that may make the comment confusing. His comments are a mashup of two things–one being Charles I execution in 1649, and the other being the infamous executioner Jack Ketch, who worked in the 1680s, under Charles II. I presume the guest stopped short of explaining his tangential reference to Jack Ketch during our podcast out of respect for the show since we do not go that far into history, aiming to stay within Shakespeare’s lifetime of 1564-1616. However, because I definitely want the history we present here to be clear, I have gone back to the notes and added both an Editor’s clarification about Charles I vs Charles II, and some information about Jack Ketch should you want to learn more about him (And he has an incredible story for sure!) I hope this helps you! Thank you again for listening.