The Executioner in the Sixteenth Century Duties, Income and Social Position in the Holy Roman Empire, with Particular Attention to Goslar and the Kruse Family

The sixteenth-century Scharfrichter or Nachrichter was more than an official who carried out deathsentences. He served the courts, but could also hold rights or contracts relating to the collectionand processing of animal carcasses, municipal cleaning and other work. Some executioners treatedinjured people and animals. Their income could comprise a fixed official allowance, fees forindividual assignments, proceeds from processing dead animals, and payments made by privateclients.The central conclusion is that an executioner's livelihood did not depend solely on the number ofexecutions. The precise combination of duties varied from town to town and must be establishedfor each executioner individually, from his appointment and local accounts. Payments made inGoslar to Meister Lorenz in 1578 and 1588 provide concrete examples. An additional documentfrom Verden contains a fee agreement of 24 October 1687 with Meister Wilhelm Cruse. This latersource clarifies the composition of judicial fees and the role of assistants in the business of a Kruseexecutioner.