Was it because it was painful and slow? The shame spanned generations. Why? Read by Le Roy Ladurie in “Life at the French Court” : breaking the wheel is such a shame that uncles, aunts and brothers and the next three generations are barred from any noble capital.”
Answer
Dear Jan,
Wheelbreaking was indeed a very gruesome (death) punishment that was only intended for the most serious criminals.
The grievous mutilations inflicted on the punished person’s body were aimed at the ‘corpse shell’
to destroy and dishonor as much of the dead as possible. After breaking the wheel, the body was therefore often dishonorably dumped, burned or burned
the body parts scattered.
In this way they tried to prevent the resurrection of the slain criminals in this way. People then believed
also that when the day of judgment came, the dead would rise again. According to ecclesiastical teaching, the body was to be the ‘dwelling place of the soul’.
therefore remain safeguarded to enable the return of the soul. There were strict penalties for disturbing graves and
great care has been taken to ensure a proper inhumation or burial. The well-to-do classes such as the clergy and the nobility liked to be buried in stone (family) tombs
buried in order to have more certainty to be able to rise again later. For this reason cremation was hardly ever used as a burial ritual.
You can imagine that it must have been a great shame if you were taken away from this opportunity (to access heaven).
Hopefully this answers your question in some way?
Sincerely,
Tim Clerbaut
Answered by
PhD student Tim Clerbaut
archeology archeology
http://www.ugent.be
.