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Historisk tidskrift 131:3 • 2011

Innehåll (Contents) 2011:3

De brända och glömda – om några osynliggjorda och tillintetgjorda kvinnor

Martin Bergman

Fulltext (pdf)

Summary

Burnt and forgotten – women destroyed and made invisible

In 1841, all capital punishments including any addition reaching beyond the mere killing of the delinquent were abolished in Sweden. These additions had been different for men and women: after decapitation, male bodies were usually dismembered in different ways and the body parts were displayed on poles at the site of execution (“stegling”), while female bodies were usually burnt to ashes. In the parliamentary debate preceding the new legislation, several members stated that no such punishment had been carried out for several years; condemned criminals had received clemency at least to simple death. Furthermore, in a reply to the parliament in 1835, the government had noted that simple death was the only form of execution acceptable at the present time.

Earlier research has presumed that executions in which additions were applied ended before 1835, and it is likely that the “stegling” ceased with an execution in August 1834. However, the burning of women probably continued until 1839. Thus, for some five years, when these cases were brought before the king in council for final review, men condemned to the “stegling” as an additional punishment were always reprieved from it, while women sometimes were not reprieved and thus burnt.

The study presents this difference and seeks to explain how it was possible not only to make such a distinction between the punishment of men and women but also to avoid discussing or remarking upon the practice. The increasingly problematic public execution constitutes one perspective among others. The impact of “stegling” and burning, respectively, on the local community and how these phenomena were perceived in the general debate is also of considerable importance. The different standings and roles in public of men and women are integrated parts of the picture.

Keywords

Burning at the stake, women, qualified punishments, execution, death penalty, Sweden, 19th century