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Swiss Grand Provost
The executioner did not hold the same position in all countries. For whereas in France, Italy, and Spain, a certain amount of odium was attached to this terrible craft, in Germany, on the contrary, successfully carrying out a certain number of capital sentences was rewarded by titles and the privileges of nobility
Entry of the Roi de l'Epinette
Entry of the Roi de l'Epinette at Lille in the Sixteenth Century .--From a Manuscript of the Library of Rouen.
Beggar
Beggar playing the Fiddle, and his Wife accompanying him with the Bones.--From an old Engraving of the Seventeenth Century.
German Beggar
German Beggar Woodcut in the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Munster: in folio, Basle, 1552.
Sculptured Comb
Sculptured Comb, in Ivory, of the Sixteenth Century (Sauvageot Collection)
Gentleman of the French Court
Gentleman of the French Court, of the End of the Sixteenth Century. From the "Livre de Poésies," Manuscript dedicated to Henry IV.
German Knights
German Knights (Fifteenth Century). from Drawings by Albert Durer.
Movable iron cage
Movable Iron Cage.--From a Woodcut in the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Munster, in folio, Basle, 1552.
Italians of the 15th Century
Notary and Sbirro (policeman)--From two Engravings in the Bonnart Collection.
Punishment by Fire
Punishment by Fire When a criminal had been condemned to be burnt, a stake was erected on the spot specially designed for the execution, and round it a pile was prepared, composed of alternate layers of straw and wood, and rising to about the height of a man. Care was taken to leave a free space round the stake for the victim, and also a passage by which to lead him to it. Having been stripped of his clothes, and dressed in a shirt smeared with sulphur, he had to walk to the centre of the pile through a narrow opening, and was then tightly bound to the stake with ropes and chains. After this, faggots and straw were thrown into the empty space through which he had passed to the stake, until he was entirely covered by them; the pile was then fired on all sides at once
Grand Procession
Grand Procession of the Doge, Venice (Sixteenth Century).
Italian Kitchen
Interior of Italian Kitchen. From the Book on Cookery of Christoforo di Messisburgo, "Banchetti compositioni di Vivende," 4to., Ferrara, 1549. It was only in the course of the sixteenth century that the name of potage ceased to be applied to stews, whose number equalled their variety, for on a bill of fare of a banquet of that period we find more than fifty different sorts of potages mentioned.
Costumes of Thriteenth Century
Tristan and the beautiful Yseult.--From a Miniature in the Romance of "Tristan," Manuscript of the Fourteenth Century
Free judges
Free Judges From two Woodcuts in the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Munster: in folio, 1552.
Costume of a rich Bourgeoise, and of a Noble, or Person of Distinction
A rich Bourgeoise, and of a Noble, or Person of Distinction, of the Time of Francis I.--From a Window in the Church of St. Ouen at Rouen, by Gaignières (National Library of Paris).
Damsel of the Court of Catherine de Medicis
Costumes of the Ladies and Damsels of the Court of Catherine de Medicis.--After Cesare Vecellio.
Richard crucified
The Infant Richard crucified by the Jews, at PontoiseFrom a Woodcut, with Figures by Wohlgemuth, in the "Liber Chronicarum Mundi:" large folio, Nuremberg, 1493.
Herald
(Fourteenth Century).--From a Miniature in the "Chroniques de Saint-Denis" (Imperial Library of Paris).
Italian Jew
Costume of an Italian Jew of the Fourteenth Century.--From a Painting by Sano di Pietro, preserved in the Academy of the Fine Arts, at Sienna.
Costumes of the German Bourgeoisie in the Middle of the Sixteenth Century2
Costumes of the German Bourgeoisie in the Middle of the Sixteenth Century.--Drawing attributed to Holbein.
Costumes of the German Bourgeoisie in the Middle of the Sixteenth Century
Costumes of the German Bourgeoisie in the Middle of the Sixteenth Century
Blind and poor sick
The sabouleux, who were commonly called the poor sick of St. John, were in the habit of frequenting fairs and markets, or the vicinity of churches; there, smeared with blood and appearing as if foaming at the mouth by means of a piece of soap they had placed in it, they struggled on the ground as if in a fit, and in this way realised a considerable amount of alms. These consequently paid the largest fees to the Coesre
Gardener and Woodman
Costumes of the Common People in the Fourteenth Century: Italian Gardener and Woodman.--From two Engravings in the Bonnart Collection.
How to catch a squirrel
"The Way to catch Squirrels on the Ground in the Woods"--Fac-simile of a Miniature in the Manuscript of the "Livre du Roy Modus" (Fourteenth Century) One of the best ways of pleasing Louis XI. was to offer him some present relating to his favourite pastime, either pointers, hounds, falcons, or varlets who were adepts in the art of venery or hawking
Italian Beggar
Italian Beggar. From an Engraving by Callot. We must not forget the protobianti (master rogues), who made no scruple of exciting compassion from their own comrades
Interior of a kitchen
Interior of a Kitchen of the Sixteenth Century. Fac-simile from a Woodcut in the "Calendarium Romanum" of Jean Staéffler, folio, Tubingen, 1518.
Gipsies
Gipsies Fortune-telling.--Fac-simile of a Woodcut in the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Munster: in folio, Basle, 1552. During the fifteen days which they spent at Bologna a number of the people of the town went to see them, and especially to see "the wife of the duke," who, it was said, knew how to foretell future events, and to tell what was to happen to people, what their fortunes would be, the number of their children, if they were good or bad, and many other things
Member of Brotherhood of death
Member of the Brotherhood of Death, whose duty it was to accompany those sentenced to death
Jewish Ceremony before the Ark
Jewish Ceremony before the Ark Fac-simile of a woodcut printed at Troyes.
Lady of the Court of Catherine de Medicis
Costumes of the Ladies and Damsels of the Court of Catherine de Medicis.
Kitchen
Interior of a Kitchen.--Fac-simile from a Woodcut in the "Calendarium Romanum" of J. Staéffler, folio, Tubingen, 1518.
Orphans
-Orphans, Callots, and the Family of the Grand Coesre.--From painted Hangings and Tapestry from the Town of Rheims, executed during the Fifteenth Century. The Grand Coesre levied a tax of twenty-four sous per annum upon the young rogues, who went about the streets pretending to shed tears, as "helpless orphans," in order to excite public sympathy.
Servants of the 14th Century
Costume of English Servants in the Fourteenth Century.--From Manuscripts in the British Museum.
A gipsy family
Almost all of them had their ears pierced, and in each one or two silver rings, which in their country, they said, was a mark of nobility. The men were very swarthy, with curly hair; the women were very ugly, and extremely dark, with long black hair, like a horse's tail; their only garment being an old rug tied round the shoulder by a strip of cloth or a bit of rope.
Gipsy encampment
Gipsy Encampment. Copper-plate by Callot.
German Beggar
German Beggar Woodcut in the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Munster: in folio, Basle, 1552.