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{{Short description|Method of execution}} {{trivia |date=September 2024}} [[Image:Last judgement.jpg|thumb|225px|[[Michelangelo]]'s ''[[The Last Judgment (Michelangelo)|The Last Judgment]]'' - [[St Bartholomew]] holding the knife of his martyrdom and his flayed skin; it is conjectured that Michelangelo included a self-portrait depicting himself as St Bartholomew after he had been flayed alive.]] '''Flaying''' is a method of slow and painful torture and/or execution in which [[Human skin|skin]] is removed from the [[Human body|body]]. Generally, an attempt is made to keep the removed portion of skin intact.{{citation needed|date= October 2017}} ==Scope== A dead animal may be flayed when preparing it to be used as human food, or for its hide or [[fur]]. This is more commonly called [[skinning]]. Flaying of humans is used as a method of [[torture]] or [[Execution (legal)|execution]], depending on how much of the skin is removed. This is often referred to as flaying alive. There are also records of people flayed after [[death]], generally as a means of debasing the corpse of a prominent enemy or [[Crime|criminal]], sometimes related to religious beliefs (e.g., to deny an afterlife); sometimes the skin is used, again for deterrence, esoteric/ritualistic purposes, etc. (e.g., [[scalping]]).{{citation needed| date= October 2017}} ==Causes of death== [[Dermatologist]] Ernst G. Jung notes that the typical causes of death due to flaying are [[Shock (circulatory)|shock]], critical loss of [[blood]] or other [[body fluid]]s, [[hypothermia]], or [[infection]]s, and that the actual death is estimated to occur from a few hours up to a few days after the flaying.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=LAnRRHPMmlcC&pg=PA69 p.69 ''Kleine Kulturgeschichte der Haut'']. p. 69. Ernst G. Jung (2007).</ref> Hypothermia is possible because skin provides natural insulation and is essential for maintaining body temperature. ==History== === Assyrian tradition === [[File:Flaying of rebels.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Assyria]]ns flaying their prisoners alive]] Ernst G. Jung, in his ''Kleine Kulturgeschichte der Haut'' ("A short cultural history of the skin"), provides an essay in which he outlines the [[Neo-Assyrian]] tradition of flaying human beings.<ref>Paragraph based on the essay "''Von Ursprung des Schindens in Assyrien''" in ''Jung'' (2007), [https://books.google.com/books?id=LAnRRHPMmlcC&pg=PA67 p.67-70]</ref> Already from the times of [[Ashurnasirpal II]] (r. 883–859 BC), the practice is displayed and commemorated in both carvings and official royal edicts. The carvings show that the actual flaying process might begin at various places on the body, such as at the [[Crus (lower leg)|crus]] (lower leg), the thighs, or the buttocks. [[File:Shield showing three flaying knives, symbol of St. Bartholomew.jpg|left|170px|thumb|Shield showing three flaying knives, symbol of [[Bartholomew the Apostle]]]] In their royal edicts, the Neo-Assyrian kings seem to gloat over the terrible fate they imposed upon their captives, and that flaying seems, in particular, to be the fate meted out to rebel leaders. Jung provides some examples of this triumphant rhetoric. From Ashurnasirpal II:{{quote|I have made a pillar facing the city gate, and have flayed all the rebel leaders; I have clad the pillar in the flayed skins. I let the leaders of the conquered cities be flayed, and clad the city walls with their skins. The captives I have killed by the sword and flung on the dung heap.{{Citation needed |reason=source not clear |date=November 2016}}}} The [[Rassam cylinder]] in the [[British Museum]] describes this: {{quote|Their corpses they hung on stakes, they took off their skins and covered the city wall with them.<ref>{{cite web |title=cylinder 91026 |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_Rm-1 |website=The British Museum |language=en}} Col.1, L.52 to Col.2, L. 27</ref>{{bsn|date=March 2023|reason=Non-primary source needed, I doubt the British Museum will let average editor in to verify the details}} }} === Other examples === Searing or cutting the flesh from the body was sometimes used as part of the public execution of [[Treason|traitors]] in medieval Europe. A similar mode of execution was used as late as the early 18th century in France; one such episode is graphically recounted in the opening chapter of [[Michel Foucault]]'s ''[[Discipline and Punish]]'' (1979). In 1303, the treasury of [[Westminster Abbey]] was robbed while holding a large sum of money belonging to [[Edward I of England|King Edward I]]. After the arrest and interrogation of 48 monks, three of them, including the [[Prior (ecclesiastical)|subprior]] and [[Sacristan|sacrist]], were found guilty of the robbery and flayed. Their skin was attached to three doors as a warning against robbers of church and state.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Andrews |first1=William |title=The Church Treasury of History, Custom, Folk-Lore, etc. |date=1898 |publisher=Williams Andrews & Co. |location=London|pages=158–167 |url=http://www.elfinspell.com/England/Andrews/TheChurchTreasury/HumanSkinOnChurchDoors.html |access-date=4 May 2015}}</ref> At [[St Michael and All Angels Church, Copford|St Michael & All Angels Church]] in [[Copford]] in Essex, England, it is claimed that human skin was found attached to an old door, though evidence seems elusive.<ref name="Wall">Wall, J. Charles (1912), ''Porches and Fonts.'' Wells Gardner and Darton, London. pp. 41-42.</ref> In Chinese history, [[Sun Hao]], [[Fu Sheng (Former Qin)|Fu Sheng]] and [[Gao Heng]] were known for removing skin from people's faces.<ref>. [http://www.chinamonitor.org/article/kuxing/zgkx.htm 中国死刑观察--中国的酷刑]</ref> The [[Hongwu Emperor]] flayed many servants, officials and rebels.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eywedu.com/lishiyanjiu/lsyj2001/lsyj20010414.html |title=也谈"剥皮实草"的真实性 |publisher=Eywedu.com |access-date=2013-07-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150521185121/http://www.eywedu.com/lishiyanjiu/lsyj2001/lsyj20010414.html |archive-date=2015-05-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://fjtct.now.cn:7751/zjjxs.com/msfq/msfq/msfq-6.htm 覃垕曬皮] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211212501/http://fjtct.now.cn:7751/zjjxs.com/msfq/msfq/msfq-6.htm |date=2007-12-11 }}</ref> [[Hai Rui]] suggested that his emperor flay corrupt officials. The [[Zhengde Emperor]] flayed six rebels,<ref>[[History of Ming]], vol.94</ref> and [[Zhang Xianzhong]] also flayed many people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://book.sina.com.cn/nzt/history/his/lishizhenxiang/71.shtml |title=写入青史总断肠(2) |publisher=Book.sina.com.cn |access-date=2013-07-11}}</ref> [[Lu Xun]] said the [[Ming dynasty]] was begun and ended by flaying.<ref>鲁迅. ''且介亭雜文·病後雜談''</ref> ==Examples and depictions of flayings== ===Artistic=== [[File:Apollo flaying Marsyas by Antonio Corradini (1658-1752), V&A.JPG|thumb|right|''Apollo flaying Marsyas'' by [[Antonio Corradini]] (1658–1752), [[Victoria and Albert Museum]], [[London]]]] [[File:Titian - The Flaying of Marsyas - WGA22909.jpg|thumb|''The [[Flaying of Marsyas (Titian)|Flaying of Marsyas]]'' after challenging [[Apollo (mythology)|Apollo]]. Painting by [[Titian]].]] [[File:Gerard David - The Judgment of Cambyses2 WGA.jpg|thumb|''[[The Judgement of Cambyses]]'', part 2, half of a [[diptych]] painted by [[Gerard David]] in 1498]] * One of the [[Plastination|plastinated]] exhibits in [[Body Worlds]] includes an entire posthumously flayed skin, and many of the other exhibits have had their skin removed. ===Mythological=== * In [[Greek mythology]], [[Marsyas]], a [[satyr]], was flayed alive after losing a musical contest to [[Apollo]]. * Also according to Greek mythology, [[Aloeus]] is said to have had his wife flayed. * The Giant [[Asterius (giant)|Asterius]] was flayed alive by the goddess [[Athena]]. * In [[Aztec mythology]], [[Xipe Totec]] is the flayed god of death and rebirth. Captured enemy warriors were flayed annually as sacrifices to him. ===Historical=== * According to [[Herodotus]], [[Sisamnes]], a corrupt judge under [[Cambyses II of Persia]], was flayed for accepting a bribe. * The [[Talmud]] discusses how [[Rabbi Akiva]] was flayed alive by the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] for publicly teaching the [[Torah]]. * [[Holy Tradition#Holy tradition in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches|Catholic and Orthodox tradition]] holds that [[Saint Bartholomew]] was flayed before being [[crucifixion|crucified]]. * In 202 AD, Saint [[Charalambos]] was reportedly tortured mercilessly aged 113 during the reign of [[Septimius Severus]]. The torturers lacerated his body with iron hooks and scraped all the skin from his body. *In 260 AD, the Roman emperor [[Valerian (emperor)|Valerian]] was seized during a parley by [[Shapur I]], king of Persia, at [[Edessa]]. According to some accounts he was flayed alive. * [[Mani (prophet)|Mani]], founding prophet of [[Manichaeism]], was said to have been flayed or [[Decapitation|beheaded]] (c. 275). * Vasak Mamikonyan, commander-in-chief of the Armenian army during the reign of [[Arshak II]], king of Armenia, was flayed alive on the order of Shapur II, after he, along with Arsaces, was captured and imprisoned by the Persian king. His skin was then [[Stuffing and mounting|filled with hay]] and put before Arsaces to further mock and psychologically torture the imprisoned Armenian king. (c. 367). * [[Totila]] is said to have ordered the [[bishop of Perugia]], [[Herculanus of Perugia|Herculanus]], to be flayed when he captured that city in 549. * In 991 AD, during a [[Viking]] raid in England, a Danish Viking is said to have been flayed by London locals for ransacking a church. Alleged human skin found on a local church door has, for many years, been considered as proof for this legend, but a deeper analysis made during the production of the 2001 BBC documentary, ''Blood of the Vikings'', came to the conclusion that the preserved skin came from a cow hide and was part of a 19th-century hoax. * [[Pierre Basile]] was flayed alive and all defenders of the chateau [[hanging|hanged]] on 6 April 1199, by order of the mercenary leader [[Mercadier]], for shooting and killing [[monarch|King]] [[Richard I of England]] with a [[crossbow]] at the siege of [[Châlus]], in March 1199.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Mercadier |volume=18 |page=148}}</ref> * In 1314, the brothers Aunay, who were lovers of the daughters-in-law of king [[Philip IV of France]], were flayed alive, then [[castrated]] and beheaded, and their bodies were exposed on a [[gibbet]] (''[[Tour de Nesle Affair]]''). The extreme severity of their punishment was due to the ''[[lèse majesté]]'' nature of the crime. * In 1323, the Mexica tribe asked for Yaocihuatl, daughter of Achicometl, ruler of Culhuacan in marriage. Unknown to him, she was sacrificed, with the priest appearing during the festival dinner wearing her skin as part of the ritual. * In 1404 or 1417, the [[Hurufi]] Imad ud-Din [[Nesîmî]], an [[Islam]]ic poet of [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] extraction, was flayed alive, apparently on orders of a [[Timurid dynasty|Timurid]] governor, and for [[heresy]]. *In 1490, [[Krokodeilos Kladas|Krokodeilas Kladas]] who led a revolt in the [[Morea]] was flayed alive by the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottomans]] when caught in battle.[[File:Giuseppe-gatteri1571 il- martirio marcantonio bragadin.jpg|thumb|[[Marco Antonio Bragadin]], Venetian commander of [[Famagusta]] flayed alive by the Turks after a year's [[Siege of Famagusta|defense of the city]] in 1571]] *In August 1571, [[Marco Antonio Bragadin]], a defeated [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] commander, was flayed to death by the Ottomans, causing enormous outrage in Venice and perhaps inspiring [[Titian]]'s ''[[Flaying of Marsyas (Titian)|Flaying of Marsyas]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2003/agosto/17/fine_Marsia_secondo_Tiziano_co_0_030817072.shtml |author=Mariotti, Giovanni |title=La fine di Marsia secondo Tiziano|website=[[Il Corriere della Sera]]|date= 17 August 2003}}</ref> * In September 1611, Dionysios the Philosopher (or [[Dionysios Skylosophos]]) was flayed alive by the Ottomans after a failed revolt in [[Ioannina]]. His skin was filled with hay and was paraded. *In 1657, the Polish [[Jesuit]] martyr, [[Andrew Bobola]], was burned, half strangled, partly flayed alive, and killed by a sabre stroke by Eastern Orthodox Cossacks. * In 1771, [[Daskalogiannis]], a [[Cretan]] rebel against the [[Ottoman Empire]], was flayed alive, and it is said that he suffered in dignified silence. * In the United States, [[Nat Turner]], leader of a rebellion against [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] in [[Virginia]], was hanged on November 11, 1831. His body was then flayed, his skin being used to make purses as souvenirs.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cromwell|first=John W.|title=The Aftermath of Nat Turner's Insurrection|journal=The Journal of Negro History|volume=5|number=2|year=1920|pages=208–234|doi=10.2307/2713592|jstor=2713592|s2cid=150053000|quote=His body was given over to the surgeons for dissection. He was skinned to supply such souvenirs as purses, his flesh made into grease, and his bones divided as trophies to be handed down as heirlooms. It is said that there still lives a Virginian who has a piece of his skin which was tanned, that another Virginian possesses one of his ears and that the skull graces the collection of a physician in the city of Norfolk.}}</ref>{{rp|218}} * On July 17, 1941, in the [[Jadovno concentration camp]], the Serbian Orthodox parish priest [[Damjan Štrbac]] was martyred by flaying by [[Ustaše]] guards.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-01-16 |title=Прослављен Свети Дамјан Граховски {{!}} Српскa Православнa Црквa [Званични сајт] |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116130426/http://www.spc.rs/sr/proslavljen_sveti_damjan_grahovski |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=web.archive.org}}</ref> * In [[Marcel Ophuls]]'s documentary, ''[[Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie]]'', the daughter of a [[French Resistance]] leader claims her father was tortured, including being flayed, by [[Klaus Barbie]] during his time at [[Lyon]] in 1942–1944. * In 1957, a victim of [[Ed Gein]] was found "[[Field dressing (hunting)|dressed out]] like a deer". Gein appears to have been influenced by the then-current stories about the Nazis collecting body parts in order to make [[Lampshades made from human skin#Ed Gein|lampshades]] and other items.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gelbin|first=Cathy|section=Metaphors of Genocide |editor=Duttinger |display-editors=etal|title=Performance and Performativity in German Cultural Studies|publisher=[[Peter Lang (publisher)|Peter Lang]]|date=2003|page=233}}</ref> His story fueled the inspiration of the fictional characters [[Norman Bates]] (in [[Psycho (1960 film)|''Psycho'']]), [[Buffalo Bill (character)|Jame Gumb "Buffalo Bill"]] ([[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|''The Silence of the Lambs'']]), and [[Leatherface]] (''[[The Texas Chain Saw Massacre]]''). * On June 23, 2023, a video was uploaded to the Internet by [[Cártel del Noreste|Cártel Del Noreste]], which depicted a rival cartel member having his entire head flayed, his tongue [[Colombian necktie|pulled out of his throat]], and heart being ripped out of his chest. The video, which is known as the "Zacatecas Flaying" or "Red Skull" video, was first uploaded to [[WhatsApp]], before later being reupload to sites like [[Twitter]] and [[Reddit]]. ===Fictional=== * In [[Thomas Harris]]'s novel ''[[The Silence of the Lambs (novel)|The Silence of the Lambs]]'', the character [[Buffalo Bill (character)|Buffalo Bill]] is a serial killer whose ''modus operandi'' includes flaying his victims. * In the fantasy series ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' and ''[[Game of Thrones]]'', House Bolton of the Dreadfort is known for using flaying as a torture and execution method. Their crest depicts a flayed man hung upside down, and househead Roose Bolton claims that "a naked man has few secrets, a flayed man has none". Theon Greyjoy is partially flayed by Ramsay Bolton, though not fatally. * The [[Predator (fictional species)|titular monster/alien]] species of the ''[[Predator (franchise)|Predator]]'' film franchise flays its victims. * In [[Haruki Murakami]]'s novel ''[[The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle]]'' (1994–1995), the character Mamiya is traumatised by having witnessed a colleague being flayed to death in [[Manchukuo]], in the late 1930s. * In the 1984 film ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]]'', the skins of flaying victims are visible in the backgrounds of multiple shots, hung up within the Temple of Kali. * In the 2008 French movie [[Martyrs (2008 film)|''Martyrs'']], a female character is flayed alive by a secret philosophical society seeking to discover the secrets of the afterlife through the creation of "martyrs". * The [[Slitheen]], a family of criminal extraterrestrials in the science-fiction series ''[[Doctor Who]]'', disguise themselves using the skins of their deceased victims. It is heavily implied that some of their victims are flayed alive. * In the 2012 film ''[[Dredd]]'', drug kingpin Ma-Ma orders three rogue dealers to be flayed alive before being tossed off a balcony. * In the sixth season of the television series ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]],'' the [[Witch (Buffyverse)|witch]] [[Willow Rosenberg]] uses dark magic to flay [[Warren Mears]] alive in retaliation for the murder of her girlfriend, [[Tara Maclay]]. * In the 2019 folk horror film ''[[Midsommar]]'', one of the main characters, Mark, is flayed off-screen and his executioner is later seen wearing his face as a mask and his legs as a pair of pants. * In the 2020 film ''[[Hunter Hunter (film)|Hunter Hunter]]'', Anne, one of the main characters, flays the face and upper body from the man who murdered her husband and daughter. * In the 2021 film ''[[Spiral (2021 film)|Spiral]]'', a character is flayed (partially on screen) as part of the spiral killer's plan. * In the 2024 film ''[[Deadpool & Wolverine]]'', Cassandra Nova uses her powers to flay an alternate version of Johnny Storm, which includes not just his [[Epidermis|outer skin]] but his muscles and the inner layers of his skin too, leaving him to collapse into a corpse of chunks of blood, organs, and bones. == See also == * [[Anthropodermic bibliopegy]] (books bound in human skin) * [[Degloving]] * [[Écorché]] * [[Excarnation]] * [[Lingchi]] * [[Scalping]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Bibliography== *{{cite book|last=Jung|first=Ernst G.|title="Von Ursprung des Schindens in Assyrien", in "Kleine Kulturgeschichte Der Haut" |year=2007|publisher=Springer Verlag|isbn=9783798517578}} ==External links== {{Commons category}} *[http://www.mystudios.com/art/italian/titian/titian-flaying-of-marsyas.jpg 1575 Painting: The Flaying of Marsyas, by Titian]. {{Capital punishment}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Capital punishment]] [[Category:Corporal punishments]] [[Category:Execution methods]] [[Category:Torture]] [[Category:Skin]] [[Category:People executed by flaying|*]]
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