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themis_biblos 's review for:
The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death in the Sixteenth Century
by Joel F. Harrington
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Overall extremely fascinating with a lot of interesting insights into the life of that time.
I'm convinced that being an executioner and being a good man are not mutually exclusive, but, since we do not get to read too many of the executioner's own words, we'll have to take the author's word for it that the executioner was a pious and good and honest man. Which may very well be true, but Harrington takes such pains to paint the executioner in a good light that it feels disingenuous.
Harrington also does his best to show the differences (and similarities!) in belief and empathy of society back then and now today. But there's nothing more than a single off-handed comment on women, their role and why they did what they did.
I'm convinced that being an executioner and being a good man are not mutually exclusive, but, since we do not get to read too many of the executioner's own words, we'll have to take the author's word for it that the executioner was a pious and good and honest man. Which may very well be true, but Harrington takes such pains to paint the executioner in a good light that it feels disingenuous.
Harrington also does his best to show the differences (and similarities!) in belief and empathy of society back then and now today. But there's nothing more than a single off-handed comment on women, their role and why they did what they did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Religious bigotry, Death of parent
Minor: Incest, Physical abuse, War