the clergy when publishing a story of a condemned and her spiritual life and repentance, to concentrate on the mercy and forgiveness of God.358 Several collections of edifying stories about delinquents appeared.359 The ecclesiastical and the practical preparation finally reached the time when the actions of the state again were clearly visible and functional: often the reading of the sentence and definitively at the execution. In Germany the formal pronouncement of the sentence, the ”hochnothpeinliches Halsgericht”, held since the Middle Ages and up to the nineteenth century, was an impressive ceremony often immediately preceding the execution. It should be noted that it was the official judgement, for in reality the delinquent had been already informed and prepared for the ceremonies of pronouncement and execution.360 From the Halsgericht, an often very impressive procession, affirming the power and glory of the state and the authorities, proceeded to the site of execution.361 Even the official order of the executions has been likened to the liturgy by calling it ”legal liturgies”.362 Jürgen Martschukat sees big gatherings at the public executions as necessary for the message and symbols of the authorities to be spread. Their justice was presented as being the justice given by God. To them also authority and power was given, for the people to obey. God acted through the authorities, and thus in the execution. The delivery of messages by the state the execution and its message 358 On biographies and autobiographies as a genre in pietistic literature see Schrader 2004 p 395 sqq. On this genre in general and on the cases of delinquents in particular see Lächele 1996 p 183 sqq. On some problems concerning this kind of texts as sources see Bergman 2011b p 107 sqq. On the rarity of the description of a not successful preparation see Bergman 2011b p 111. These biographies concerning those condemned to death is criticised as ”Sensationslektüre” following fixed patterns by Kittsteiner 1992 p 333 sqq. 359 See a list in Lächele 1996 p 199 sq. 360 Concerning Halsgericht see e g Ausführliche Beschreibung 1798, Tittman 1822, Carpzov 1677 p 292 sqq, Grolman 1970 p 482 sq and Evans 1997 p 65 sqq. It is important to note that no German uniformity existed. Concerning theCCCof 1532 Jürgen Martschukat has called it”einRechtskatekismus”, Martschukat 2000a p16 sqq. In1833 Julius Friedrich Heinrich Abegg reports that a large part of the ceremonies was abolished, Abegg 1996 p 340. 361 See e g Evans 1997 p 73 sqq and Gade 1956 p 106. 362 Puppi 1991 p 21. 107
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