Mazzatello
Encyclopedia
Mazzatello was a method of capital punishment
used by the Papal States
from the late 18th century to 1870. The method was named after the implement used in the execution: a large, long-handled mallet
or pole-ax. According to Abbott, mazzatello constituted "one of the most brutal methods of execution ever devised, requiring minimal skill on the part of the executioner and superhuman acquiescence by the victim". Megivern cites mazzatello as one example of an execution method devised by the Papal States that "competed with and in some instances surpassed those of other regimes for cruelty".
The condemned would be led to a scaffold in a public square of Rome, accompanied by a priest (the confessor
of the condemned); the platform also contained a coffin and the masked executioner, dressed in black. A prayer would first be said for the condemned's soul. Then, the mallet would be raised, and swung in the air to gain momentum
, and then brought down on the head of the prisoner, similar to a contemporary method of slaughtering cattle in stockyards. Because this procedure could merely stun the condemned rather than killing him instantly, the throat of the prisoner would then be slit with a knife. Most often, the condemned was merely knocked unconscious.
Along with drawing and quartering
(sometimes, but not always, after a hanging), mazzatello was reserved for crimes that were considered "especially loathsome".
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
used by the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
from the late 18th century to 1870. The method was named after the implement used in the execution: a large, long-handled mallet
Mallet
A mallet is a kind of hammer, usually of rubber,or sometimes wood smaller than a maul or beetle and usually with a relatively large head.-Tools:Tool mallets come in different types, the most common of which are:...
or pole-ax. According to Abbott, mazzatello constituted "one of the most brutal methods of execution ever devised, requiring minimal skill on the part of the executioner and superhuman acquiescence by the victim". Megivern cites mazzatello as one example of an execution method devised by the Papal States that "competed with and in some instances surpassed those of other regimes for cruelty".
The condemned would be led to a scaffold in a public square of Rome, accompanied by a priest (the confessor
Confessor
-Confessor of the Faith:Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith, but not to the point of death. The term is still used in this way in the East. In Latin Christianity it has come to signify any saint, as well as those who have been declared...
of the condemned); the platform also contained a coffin and the masked executioner, dressed in black. A prayer would first be said for the condemned's soul. Then, the mallet would be raised, and swung in the air to gain momentum
Momentum
In classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object...
, and then brought down on the head of the prisoner, similar to a contemporary method of slaughtering cattle in stockyards. Because this procedure could merely stun the condemned rather than killing him instantly, the throat of the prisoner would then be slit with a knife. Most often, the condemned was merely knocked unconscious.
Along with drawing and quartering
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
(sometimes, but not always, after a hanging), mazzatello was reserved for crimes that were considered "especially loathsome".