[AnAmericanMother]

Actually, not. The "drawn" part is when the executioner opened the body cavity and removed the entrails, to be burned before the condemned. The removal of the private parts occurred as soon as the body was cut down from the gallows.

They just don't do "cruel and unusual" like they used to.

[SpinnerWebb]

My understanding is that they had the victim tied limb to limb by rope to 4 horses. A rope was secured tightly around the privates of the victim, and attached to a fifth horse, who walked forward to draw the entrails from the victim, who then got to watch them burn, if he survived.

THEN, the other four horses walk forward, ripping the body into quarter sections.

[jonascord]

Sometimes the popular history books skip over the nitty gritty details. There are other ways to, uhm, 'access' the intestines when they 'drew and quartered.' Look up how a hunter dresses and guts a deer to keep the meat from being spoiled by the contents of the gut. Bass Pro sells a special gadget to make it easier.

Now, transfer that to some "traitor" to the crown, and don't shoot the guy, first.

To call it cruel and unusual doesn't BEGIN to describe it.

Sometimes there are things you wish you could unlearn.