"Who was the Executioner of King Charles I?" by William Shakespeare Burton (1824-1916)

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Illustration for "Who was the Executioner of King Charles I?"

William Shakespeare Burton (1824-1916)

Engraver: Joseph Swain

1864

Wood engraving

6½ x 4¾ inches (16.5 12.0 cm)

Once a Week XI, 25 June 1864, p. 14

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This appeared as an illustration in an article by Edward Dutton Cook (1829-1883) in Once a Week, entitled "Who was the Executioner of King Charles I?" Cook, a well-known drama critic and author, discusses various possible answers to this mystery. These include the story that the executioner was a certain Gregory Brandon, who "had worn a black crape stretched over his face," and was bundled off to obscurity immediately after the event, receiving "one hundred broad pieces of gold" as a reward (13). Although Cook concludes that the job was probably done by the usual, "ordinary" executioner, this story seems to be the one illustrated. What Burton conveys so memorably in his illustration is the quiet, unflinching dignity of the King when confronted with the fearsome apparition of the masked man with his mighty axe. The sombre faces of his retinue, the period housing outside, and the crowd which has gathered on the right, all add to the feeling of some momentous historical event.

Bibliography

Once a Week Vol. X1 (25 June 1864): 12-14. Internet Archive. Web. 18 June 2024.

Created 18 June 2024