Comments on Shakespeare’s England: A woman given to looseness and lewdness of life

She was burnt, rather than hanged, because her cri...

2011-09-28T23:24:10.291+01:00

She was burnt, rather than hanged, because her crime was considered petty treason (i.e. wife killing husband, or servant killing master). I must say I rather admire her for not giving in and confessing in the face of all that pressure and the horrors to come.

Poor woman, what a way to go. Imagine wearing clot...

2011-09-27T00:18:51.228+01:00

Poor woman, what a way to go. Imagine wearing clothes soaked in tar and then burned. You think maybe the executioner would have some how killed her, to stop her from suffering? Thought I read somewhere they often did that.

I think perhaps she was guilty. But burning. Horrific! As usual a great post. Thank you.

Thank you for this - I really enjoyed this glimpse...

2011-09-26T23:31:26.871+01:00

Thank you for this - I really enjoyed this glimpse of the past. She is certainly a challenging character and it is interesting that the toy boy disappears once her lewd past and unpleasant personality become the focus of interest. She seems to be convicted more on the basis of public & judicial perceptions of her transgressive and anti-social behaviour than any physical evidence. So I find it interesting that you draw parallels with CSI, where (as with so much US crime drama) we are often invited to draw conclusions regarding the suspect's moral character way before any evidence is analysed.

I don't know. There seemed to be a preference ...

2011-09-26T14:51:19.712+01:00

I don't know. There seemed to be a preference for burning women, particularly transgressive women, as opposed to hanging them, although of course lots of women were hanged. It might be worth further investigation, - perhaps a look at the figures for executions.

It seems to me Margaret like many women, was executed largely on circumstantial evidence, although selling her husband's possessions before he had actually been found dead does seem rather suspicious..

CSI Tudor London. Another great account. Why was s...

2011-09-26T14:46:33.265+01:00

CSI Tudor London. Another great account. Why was she burnt and not, say, hanged?