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| A German engraving of the execution of Charles I (1649); the unknown artist probably worked from second-hand descriptions. The executioner's block, in fact, was only six or seven inches tall, requiring the king to lie almost prone, and more effective for beheading than the pedestal depicted here. The hooded executioner, holding the ax, has just struck; his assistant, also hooded, lifts Charles's head for the crowd to see. Dr. Juxon, in clerical robes, stands just to the right of the king, holding some items of his clothing. Colonel Hacker, farthest right, superintends the execution. The British Library. |