Biography
The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century
2013·320 pages
A historian explores the life of Frantz Schmidt, a 16th-century Nuremberg executioner, through his personal journal, revealing a complex man in a brutal era.
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A historian explores the life of Frantz Schmidt, a 16th-century Nuremberg executioner, through his personal journal, revealing a complex man in a brutal era.
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"The extraordinary story of a Renaissance-era executioner and his world, based on a rare and overlooked journal In the late 1500s a Nuremberg man named Frantz Schmidt began to do something utterly remarkable for his era: he started keeping a journal. But what makes Schmidt even more compelling to us is his day job. For forty-five years, Schmidt was an efficient and prolific public executioner, employed by the state to extract confessions and put convicted criminals to death. In his years of serv...
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Romance & sex
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Brief mentions of sexual themes, not explicit or central. References to sexual assault in historical accounts, not detailed but present.
Violence & gore
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Graphic depictions of executions, torture, and corporal punishment; central to narrative.
Profanity
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No evidence found in available sources.
Substance use
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No evidence found in available sources.
LGBTQ+ Rep.
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No evidence found in available sources.
Religious content
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Frequent focus on religious beliefs and conflicts with executioner’s faith.
Magic & witchcraft
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Brief mentions of superstition in historical context, not central.
Occult / demonology
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No evidence found in available sources.
Political content
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Recurring themes of social status, classism, and penal reform in historical context.
Self-harm / suicide
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Mentions of suicide and attempts in context of executions and punishments.
Abuse & suffering
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Frequent depictions of systemic cruelty, child death, and societal suffering. References to sexual assault in historical accounts, not detailed but present.
Other
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No information found.