The pronged end of the watchman's catch pole was pushed onto the neck of the person being arrested. The death penalty was rare but when someone was condemned to have their head chopped off, it could be done in two ways. Someone who was beheaded with an axe had to lie down and place their head across a block of wood. A person who was beheaded with a sword kneeled upright and their head was chopped off. The latter method was regarded as being more refined.
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CATCH POLE. A tool used to grap people and hold on to them. (GM:4753)
EXECUTIONER´S SWORD with the text "ME FECIT SOLINGEN" which means "Solingen made me". Solingen is a city in Germany known for its weapons manufacture. (GMM:1753)
IMAGE. Etching from the 1600s by Jan Luyken. Decapitation of Ritmeester Buat in The Hauge on 11 October 1666. (Netherlands Institute for Art History)