A 16th Century Celebrity Executioner

The German executioner Meister Frantz Schmidt kept a fascinating journal of all the executions, torture and punishments he administered between 1573 and 1618. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors - originally released in June 2021 - Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Joel Harrington to talk about Schmidt and further explore public capital punishment in the 16th century, described by historians as the "spectacle of suffering." 

*WARNING! This episode contains graphic descriptions of punishments.*

The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. 

For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here >

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

To download, go to Android > or Apple store >