Hangman’s Office in the Hetmanate in the Middle of the 18th Century

The history of legal proceedings in Ukraine in the early modern time is rather poorly researched. The author of this article argues that one of the topics that should be considered is the work of the executioner. Executioner was one of the most important persons for the success of the search. For a long period of time, it was through torture that it was possible to receive information from the offenders and to reveal the crimes. However, the figure of the executioner did not receive attention in the works of the Ukrainian scholars. The article attempts to consider the main aspects of the work of the executioner in the Hetmanate in the middle of the 18th century. It should be noted that “executioner’s craft” was widespread throughout the European continent. Therefore, this paper considers some aspects of the functioning of this profession in Europe (time and cause of occurrence, service and additional duties of the executioner, attitude towards them, duration of performance of official duties). The study also analyzes the position of the executors in the legal sources of the Hetmanate. In the Statutes of the Lithuania, the profession of the headman is almost devoid of attention. However, in the Laws by Which the Little Russian People Are Judged, the interrogation process, the use of tortures, the procedure for the execution of the death penalty and the amount of the salary of the executioner are regulated. It is worth noting that in the Hetmanate, the hangman was not the only person who tortured the thieves. The books of city governments cited that the punishment of offenders was made by city servants, but the death penalty remained in the hands of the executioner. In the middle of the 18th century, there were 11 executioners in the Hetmanate: one person in each regimental city and one in Hlukhiv. Basically, the former thieves became the executioners. There were occasions when prisoners from jail sent letters to the regimental offices with a request to approve them as hangmen. In this way, criminals tried to avoid punishment for the committed crimes. Despite the substantial income (from 17 to 20 rubles per year) and the amnesty granted by the authorities, the hangmen continued breaking the law. The biggest problem for the authorities was the escaping of the executioners, which considerably slowed down the trial.