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The Faithful Executioner: Life, Death, Honor and Disgrace in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century

(us)joel Harrington

185K0

Based on the diary of an executioner who has been buried in a corner for a long time, the author leads readers back to the Renaissance and into the unknown inner world of Franz Schmidt, the most famous executioner in Nuremberg. Harrington recreates the ups and downs of Franz's life in this book, allowing readers to meet the ruthless thief, the smooth-talking liar, the tragic unwed mother (convicted of infanticide), as well as the aristocratic parliamentarian, the devout priest, and the greedy jailer. Harrington peels back the cocoon, unraveling the unspeakable secret behind Franz, and presents the process of his efforts to wash away the hereditary shame imposed on himself, and the process of atonement for his humble social status and the future of his descendants.