Gibbet

Gibbet is a term applied to several different devices used in the capital punishment of criminals and/or the deterrence of potential criminals.

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When used as a verb, gibbeting refers to the public display of executed criminals.

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Gallows

Gibbet is sometimes used to describe a gallows, a structure used in the execution of criminals by hanging.

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Guillotine

Gibbet is also the name used for an early form of the guillotine, employed in Ireland, England and Scotland. The British Museum has a drawing depicting the execution of one Murcod Ballagh in 1307 in Ireland.

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A notable example was employed in the West Yorkshire town of Halifax, where decapitation was the penalty for numerous offences, including the theft of cloth (Halifax being a centre of wool cloth manufacture). The device was used from the late 13th century through to 1648.

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The Halifax model of gibbet was also introduced in Scotland during the minority reign of James VI (later King James I of Great Britain), where it was known as the (Scottish) Maiden. James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton introduced the maiden, and was later executed by the device, on 2 June 1581.

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Capital punishment: [[Image:Death Penalty World Map.png|thumb|300px|Death Penalty World Map...

Criminal: REDIRECT Crime...

Gallows: A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging (see that article), and hence a metaphor for that capital punishment....