在13世纪的英格兰,死刑适用于除报复伤害和轻微盗窃之外的所有重罪,其中许多犯罪都具有宗教性质。在中世纪的欧洲,被判处死刑的人一般会被剥皮、钉在尖桩上、喂昆虫或野兽、沉水、石击、勒死、钉十字架、肢解、水煮、焚烧、饿死和当做炮灰。当时,绞刑是最流行的死刑执行方式。在亨利八世统治的38年里,共有78000起死刑被以绞死的方式执行。在那时,绞刑通常就意味着勒死。罪犯通过几种办法可以避免被处死:被判处死刑的罪犯可以通过恳求“牧师的特权”而获得免除死刑。 In the 13th century in England, the death penalty applied to all serious crimes other than revenge wounds and minor theft, many of which were of a religious nature. In medieval Europe, people who were sentenced to death were generally skinned, nailed to pickets, fed with insects or beasts, submerged, stoned, strangled, crucified, mutilated, boiled, burnt, starved to death and used as cannon fodder . Hanging was the most popular form of execution at that time. During the 38 years of Henry VIII’s rule, a total of 78,000 death sentences were executed in hanged ways. At that time, hanging usually means strangling. Offenders can be prevented from being executed in several ways: criminals sentenced to death can be exempted from the death penalty by begging for “priestly privileges.”