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The Witchfinder's Axe

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thehangingtree said:
His Eminence Tree related to his trusted scribe the Reverend Wragg that when the sorceress Barbara Moore was brought to the block her head spun completely around, cursed the priest reading her death sentence, and definitely marched to the block and begged the headsman to get on with her beheading so she could join her lover Lucifer for eternity...
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...though I'm not sure that is how it really happened. Perhaps Miss Moore could add some details...

T
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I am a bit more concerned that the testimony of a man claiming to be a Papist Cardinal in 1645 Anglia might be less than reliable :spider:

Of course such claims are likely to bring Parliamentary Commissioners to town which might be awkward for the 'Witch-Finder General' :D
 
RacingRodent said:
I am a bit more concerned that the testimony of a man claiming to be a Papist Cardinal in 1645 Anglia might be less than reliable :spider:

Of course such claims are likely to bring Parliamentary Commissioners to town which might be awkward for the 'Witch-Finder General' :D
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Is the rodent doubting His Eminence's integrity???
Moe_Howard.jpg
Tree
 
geek notes: the title 'Eminence' had been restricted to cardinals quite recently -
by Pope Urban VIII in 1630. Before that, it was used more generally as an obsequious term
for high-ranking clergy, but not officially. As to such goings on in East Anglia in 1645,
Googling 'East Anglia recusants' brings up some interesting articles, but indeed
Catholic priests would have been hiding in priest-holes, not parading in full dress :cool:
 
Eulalia said:
geek notes: the title 'Eminence' had been restricted to cardinals quite recently -
by Pope Urban VIII in 1630. Before that, it was used more generally as an obsequious term
for high-ranking clergy, but not officially. As to such goings on in East Anglia in 1645,
Googling 'East Anglia recusants' brings up some interesting articles, but indeed
Catholic priests would have been hiding in priest-holes, not parading in full dress :cool:
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They won't be the first that wanted to kill Tree!!!
 
Eulalia said:
geek notes: the title 'Eminence' had been restricted to cardinals quite recently -
by Pope Urban VIII in 1630. Before that, it was used more generally as an obsequious term
for high-ranking clergy, but not officially. As to such goings on in East Anglia in 1645,
Googling 'East Anglia recusants' brings up some interesting articles, but indeed
Catholic priests would have been hiding in priest-holes, not parading in full dress :cool:
Click to expand...
thehangingtree said:
They won't be the first that wanted to kill Tree!!!
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DSC_8374.jpg Ohhhh...just go crawl back in your priest-hole! :D
 
Hasturan said:
I think that's all:(
Pity...
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So sad. Pp has so little time here at the moment and, when the opportunity came to catch up on Barb' story last night, this exchange between Hasturan and Malin provided a very special undercurrent that is just never to be found in the usual banter that has to be trawled through in order to find the story posts.
The thread elsewhere just did not seem the same in isolation.
 
5. MY NECK

I fall to my knees and retch as they drag the poor Irish girl's headless corpse away from the block … blood spewing from its severed neck. The beheading of two of my friends has already left the scaffold decking copiously smeared with blood, urine and excrement. The sight and smell of it is utterly revolting.

I retch again and again, until one of the masked men assisting the executioner pulls me roughly to my feet by the hair, ordering me to stand tall.

My blonde friend and I are the only two remaining. I wonder which of us will go to the block next. A cold shiver of fear and foreboding runs through my naked body, and I move closer to her. Touching somehow is reassuring, even though our situation is hopeless.

The surging throng of onlookers that fills the town market square appears to be inconstant motion, ebbing and flowing against the scaffold ... alive and restive … like some great insatiably bloodthirsty beast. They take up a new chant ... calling my name ... demanding my head!

The Witchfinder General struts back and forth at the edge of the scaffold, basking in the attention of an aroused and expectant crowd. He holds his arms high, smiles broadly, doffs his plumed hat, bows deeply, and with a theatrically overdone flourish sweeps his hat in my direction.

The drums begin to roll, the crowd roars its delight, and I find myself being forcibly propelled forward, realizing with a sinking heart that I am next ... my friend will witness my execution before her own!

I decide then and there that I … like the Irish girl before me … am not going to lay my head down on that bloody block without a fight. I resolve to resist until the bitter end.

Halfway to the block I suddenly shout and twist myself around, breaking free from the grip of one of my startled handlers. The other manages to hang on to my arm, but loses his footing on the slimy blood-soaked decking and goes down with me on top of him. Seeing my chance, I roll off and keep rolling across the planking until I bump into the shackled feet of my blonde friend. Lying on my back, I look up into her eyes, my vision partially blurred by the sodden mass of my own hair wrapped around my face.

By this time, the first man has recovered from his initial surprise and is at my side. Throwing his muscular arm around my waist, he picks me up and heaves me over his shoulder. But before he does, she falls to her knees, leans over … her long blonde tresses splayed across my upturned face … and plants a kiss on my forehead.

I kick and squirm, but there is little I can do as he carries me away from her ... the crowd breaking into thunderous applause at the sight of my nude blood-smeared body draped over his shoulder. He spins around to give everyone a better view and, as he does, I glance once more in her direction before he plops me down next to the block. I see that her eyes are moist with tears. She is my sorceress, truly anything but a devil … a secret we pledged never to confess.

"Now, on your knees!" he growls in my ear, "and don't try that again."

With two hands pressing down on my shoulders, I sink to my knees and am forced to lean forward over the block to rest my nest my neck on its sticky surface. He ties my hair and steps back. The drum roll quickens.

I focus on the feet of my executioner. I feel the sharp cold edge of the Witchfinder's axe nick the nape of my neck as he takes aim, and then it's gone. His feet are planted firmly. The down swing is on its way.

No!!! I cannot! At the last second, I roll off the block and feel the wind and the vibration as the axe breezes past my head and buried itself in the block.

Consternation reigns. The General is livid. I am grabbed and immediately returned to the block. This time one his henchmen stands on the chain linking the irons on my ankles, and holds my hips firmly in place with his hands. Another leans over me pressing down with his hand on my back. My shoulders are forced snug against the block. I cannot move. This time he cannot miss.

The drums roll again ... a sideways glance at her ... my last thoughts ... the blade caresses my neck ... an open hand pressing harder against my back ... another hand reaching down to grope at my dangling breast ... what bastards they are ... can't move ... crowd hushed ... panic … blade lifted high ...this is it ....
 
My Loathometer blew itself to smithereens.... :mad::mad::mad:boom! :(

Still, Barb gave them ole buggers a run for their money, didn't she? :)

And us! What a ride! :)

Well done, Barb! :clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping:
 
"I am furious with these wenches. I give them the opportunity to have a swift death so that their souls may be freed from their wretched sinful bodies and this is the appreciation I get. If it would not hurt my reputation as the master headman I would be tempted to take two blows to severe the witch Barbara's neck!" -the headsman.

behead 008 b.jpg
 
thehangingtree said:
"I am furious with these wenches. I give them the opportunity to have a swift death so that their souls may be freed from their wretched sinful bodies and this is the appreciation I get. If it would not hurt my reputation as the master headman I would be tempted to take two blows to severe the witch Barbara's neck!" -the headsman.

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You did ok....don't feel bad ... some day in the distant future on the other side of the world they will say "three strikes and you are out". ;)
 
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