May 9, 1628 Würzburg, Germany Johann Bernhard Reichardt, a 9-year-old boy, is burned at the stake with 4 others for being a witch The boy was suspected by his father to have been involved with witchcraft. He was questioned and confessed to have been "seduce into witchcraft," denied God, flew to Satanic dances, and engaged…
Teenaged arsonist burned at the stake
March 29, 1683 Suzugamori execution grounds, near Edo (present-day Tokyo), Japan Would-be arsonist Yaoya Oshichi is executed for attempting to light a fire hoping to see a man she had met during a previous fire Oshichi, a 16-year-old-girl, met a temple page during a fire at the family temple the year before. Hoping to meet…
Execution of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, for speaking against Henry VIII and the pope
March 21, 1556 Oxford, England Archbishop Thomas Cranmer is burned at the stake for heresy After tension between Cranmer, Pope Clement VII, and King Henry VIII, Cranmer was to be executed for speaking against the Pope and King. He wrote a recantation, nullifying his previous speeches against the King and Pope, and was to read…
FLW: cursing the king and the pope before being burned at the stake
Famous Last Words Jacques de Molay Paris, France March 18, 1314 “Let evil swiftly befall those who have wrongly condemned us - God will avenge us.” Molay (sometimes spelt Molai) was the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar. His execution was the result of a long path between the King of France and the…
Astronomers burned at the stake
February 17, 1600 Rome, Italy Giordano Bruno is burned at the stake Bruno was an Italian friar, philosopher, poet, astrologer, and mathematician. His death was due to various convictions, including heresy, blasphemy, and immoral conduct. Bruno faced these charges largely for publicly disagreeing with various aspects of the Catholic Church, from disagreeing with the divinity…