I've been bouncing ideas for a new fic I'm plotting with 
triskellion and I'm looking for some help on one point of the story line. So LJ F-List, lend me a hand.
The Story Line
I'm working on a story line that has a character die for the first time to become immortal (Highlander style). His first death is caused because he is framed by a jealous husband of a woman that the character in question smiled at.
Needs
My Leanings
I'm leaning toward something religious or treason but I'm not sure what would result in the death penalty. I would like the death to be a public spectacle. And whatever the reason is, it needs to be something that a jealous man of a higher social class than the character could arrange.
What I've Searched
Google: 18th century death penalty; European Witch Trials; Reason for Death Penalty (and many variations of these)
I've looked at many of the first few pages of these including wikipedia links. I just haven't found anything that has jumped out at me yet.
triskellion and I'm looking for some help on one point of the story line. So LJ F-List, lend me a hand.The Story Line
I'm working on a story line that has a character die for the first time to become immortal (Highlander style). His first death is caused because he is framed by a jealous husband of a woman that the character in question smiled at.
Needs
- Set in 18th Century Europe (preferably Italy) circa 1700-1750
- Valid reason the husband can frame the character that would result in the death penalty
- Reason that would make the character scorned/resented by the community (public ridicule)
- Method for the death sentence to be carried (other than beheading)
- Enough time between death and character reviving for character to be buried in a shallow grave or something with the same effect (mass grave if more than one killed at same time?)
My Leanings
I'm leaning toward something religious or treason but I'm not sure what would result in the death penalty. I would like the death to be a public spectacle. And whatever the reason is, it needs to be something that a jealous man of a higher social class than the character could arrange.
What I've Searched
Google: 18th century death penalty; European Witch Trials; Reason for Death Penalty (and many variations of these)
I've looked at many of the first few pages of these including wikipedia links. I just haven't found anything that has jumped out at me yet.
Profile
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Comments
Okay, I'm over my historian histrionics now ;-D
Despite popular entertainment media religious themed executions, not all that common and often tied to politics. European Witch trials? death not very common in fact during James I reign Britain codified it's witchcraft laws and actually executing someone was pretty hard and rare, you were more likely to be jailed or whipped if found guilty in a court of law.
Death Penalty- generally you are looking at hanging, which was often considered a spectator sport. In fact when a text mentions a 'hanging tree' in europe it was normally actually a triangular scaffolding from which three men could be hanged from at once.
Treason- depending on how much you pissed a powerful person off very often could result in death. Beheading was generally only used for those of 'noble' blood so a commoner or a noble that fell into disgrace would be hanged. If you or your family were powerful you might get away with imprisonment or banishment. The Italian city states were fairly fond of banishment if they thought they might need you later.
While Italy of that time period wasn't my field of study there was plenty of politicking going on that your guy could be set up as working with a heavy hitter, after all the little guys are used as 'lessons'. He could be given papers to deliver for someone and it could be arranged to have him picked up and have the papers be revealed as state secrets or something of that sort, sort of a situational think (I loved the Count of Monto Cristo growing up)
My history is based more on the art history angle. I could go on and on about paintings from that time period, but certain history points that didn't feature prominently in art escape me.
The paper transfer route could be promising. That would be fairly easy for the jealous guy to set up.
Hanging was my first choice for death since it has the public angle and could lead to the body being tossed in a shallow grave relatively quick like.
Now, the only problem with treason is that certain times and places they tended to display body parts as warnings to others but hey! Fanfic! Literary license trumps most facts ;-)
Paper route could also be used if you wanted to go with confidential info taken from one "Merchant Prince" and being delivered to another, those guys could be more powerful than the rulers of the city/island/kingdom/whatever it is in that section of Italy. In that scenario your setter-upper could even be the 'wronged' party. Major theft and betrayal, through in a little 'suspected' seditious(meaning almost anything) activity for flavor and you could get your execution.
Oh, and piracy is always good
If the guy just dying instead of being executed is okay you can expand the crimes and have the punishment be public flogging...... not unusual for that to lead to death, specially if it was a scourging as opposed to just flogging or whipping.
That way you could go simple robbery, and after how kind the 'wronged' party was to your dead guy, and you've got public scorn.
The only thing with that is... would his body have been buried right away or would it have been returned to his family (a wife) for a family burial?
I plan to have the wife stand by his side as he tries to say he is innocent of the crime. Then, once he dies and comes back to life, he tries to go back to her and that's when she turns on him because he is unnatural...
Also, on Highlander the length of time to 'recover' from death always seems to be just long enough for the writer's purpose ;-)
So, if it is set near the ocean in Italy and he dies from his very public flogging. They don't take the time to arrange for him to go to the family. They just dump the body in the ocean. Do they take it further out via boat to prevent it from getting back to shore soon?
This could lead to several mini-deaths for the new immortal as he dies once or twice trying to make it back to shore.
In floggings, were they left with just pants and flogged on the bare back? Tied down? Do you have any links about it?
If on a boat thought they would toss him over board.
Floggings, no shirt generally and the two most common positions that I recall would be tied to a post standing up, or on your knees slightly over a bench/table type deal. Partly it depends on what instrument is being used.
I'd have to look for links, all my subscriptions to online academic journals/archives have expired and most of my library deals with Latin America or the Middle East
:-)
However, that leads to a whole new issue. Would they have put him in some type casket (wooden) or just tossed his body in the dirt....?
Thanks, good stuff
Nice! Thanks to author this post