Date of Award
10-3-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
First Advisor
Douglas Biggs
Second Advisor
Mark Ellis
Committee Members
Christopher Steinke, Linda Van Ingen, Amber Alexander
Keywords
Ancien Regime;Capital Punishment;Criminal Justice;Executioner;French Revolution;Headsmen
Abstract
This thesis examines the memoirs, letters, public records, and legal records of the Sanson dynasty of executioners to understand the patterns of thought and behavior of the early modern headsman. While recent historians have acknowledged the social and political pressures of the profession, few have attempted to catalog the words and actions of the executioners themselves. The Sanson family is unique in their longevity and historical role in the French Revolution. Furthermore, their memoirs provide in their own words a direct understanding of their state of mind. With recent scholarship dedicated to the analysis of the “Age of Spectacular Punishment,” this thesis seeks to synthesize current historical interpretation with a microhistory of a single executioner family. This paper charts the rise and fall of the Sanson dynasty over seven generations from 1688-1857. While the Paris lineage is well documented, this paper also examines the executioner lines in Abbeville, Reims, and Rouen. It highlights the patterns of thought and behaviors caused by factors unique to the profession. The Sansons combated this trauma by targeting the social and professional factors that caused them. Members of the family worked to reform the penal code to restore their citizenship, pushed for the adoption of the guillotine to ease their workload and expenses, and wrote editorials to turn public perception of their profession from revulsion to respect. In highlighting the plight of the French headsman, this paper underscores the singular difficulties of a profession hitherto misunderstood by contemporary society.
Recommended Citation
Rhodes, Trevor Scott, "A Race of Headsmen: The Life and Mind of a Dynasty of French Executioners, 1688-1847" (2022). History Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity. 16.
https://openspaces.unk.edu/hist-etd/16