A Hangman’s Diary cover art

A Hangman’s Diary

The Journal of Master Franz Schmidt, Public Executioner of Nuremberg, 1573-1617

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A Hangman’s Diary

By: Franz Schmidt, Albrecht Keller - editor and translator, C. Calvert BA - translator, A. W. Gruner MA - translator
Narrated by: John McLain
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About this listen

Now an esoteric of legal and criminal history, A Hangman's Diary gives a year-by-year breakdown on all of Master Franz Schmidt's executions, which included hangings, beheadings, and other methods, as well as details of each capital crime and the reason for the punishment.

From 1573 to 1617, Master Franz Schmidt was the executioner for the towns of Bamberg and Nuremberg. During that span, he personally executed more than 350 people while keeping a journal throughout his career.

A Hangman's Diary is not only a collection of detailed writings by Schmidt about his work but also an account of criminal procedure in Germany during the Middle Ages. With analysis and explanation, editor Albrecht Keller and translators C. Calvert and A. W. Gruner have put together a masterful tome that sets the scene of execution day and puts you in Master Franz Schmidt's shoes as he does his duty for his country.

An unusual and fascinating classic of crime and punishment, A Hangman's Diary is more than a history lesson; it shows the true anarchy that inhabited our world only a few hundred years ago.

Public Domain (P)2021 Tantor 16th Century 17th Century Crime Europe Germany Modern Social Sciences World Law

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All stars
Most relevant
Had to return it due to white noise occasionally on the soundtrack, first time I have seen this in over 800 books. Interesting content so I may get this in book form.

Poor Quality Recording

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I dont fully know what I was expecting from this book but it certainly wasn't this, it failed to bring to life the diary of the hangman and just really went through the number of executions and methods.
Did have a few good parts such as the explanation for the execution methods but that is about it for me. I didn't even get half way through before I was done with it

Not what I expected

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Playback has random static throughout performance, apart from this a very interesting listening experience

earphone users beware

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Fascinating book but terrible recording. A loud crackle sound happens at random points. It makes headphone listening pretty brutal on the ears. Also it's a bit odd having a cheesy American news anchor sounding man as the narrator for a book based in 16ths century Germany but hey ho.

could have been better

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The everyday barbarity of punishment for perceived criminality is interesting. However the recording is flawed in places, and the narration flat and monotonous

Imperfect recoding but interesting primary source

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