Hello, as many will know, I have written Femex stories on this site (Time of Bronze and Stone, Days of Revolution, Of Treason and Kings), all involving beheading. Now, we all have our favourite methods of actually severing the head, but what I want to know is this: what about once the head is off? Does it land in a basket, is it displayed in a public place?
The options, as I see them are:
-Basket, either remove head from basket in preparation for the next victim or replace the basket itself.
-Basket, leave head in basket and only replace once it is full.
-No basket, leave head where it falls.
-No basket, move head somewhere else in preparation.
-Keep with body for burial/disposal.
-Display the head somewhere public.
I plan on writing more stories in the future, and would appreciate knowing what would be more popular with readers. Please give your thoughts and preferences below.

 

Basket, either remove head from basket in preparation for the next victim

 

Basket, display head to crowd, and remove basket. Heads get publicly displayed while the bodies are buried elsewhere.

 

If I'm the executioner, then I prefer the option of using a large basket, leaving it until it is full and then displaying the heads on pikes.

if I'm being beheaded, then I prefer the idea of my head rolling on the scaffold (i.e. no basket) before being publicly displayed.

 

Basket, then lift the severed head by her hair to show the crowd before placing on a spike for display while the next victim is led to the block/guillotine

 

Personally I think it's something that depends heavily on the fantasy in question - how much care for the dignity of the condemned, or is it just trying to execute a bunch of people without much care for keeping heads together?

So going down your list:
-Basket, either remove head from basket in preparation for the next victim or replace the basket itself.
--- Best for individualized executions with care for keeping heads with bodies. (I know there's a scene from a series on Henry VIII's many wives where handmaids remove a head still in the basket after their mistress was beheaded)
-Basket, leave head in basket and only replace once it is full.
--- Good for multiple executions where the heads are to be displayed later and not reunited with the body. It also has that fun aspect of subsequent victims looking into the basket to see who came before them and possibly even lingering long enough to get a glimpse of the next person to have their head fall in.
-No basket, leave head where it falls.
--- Best for an ad-hoc execution, such as in the field. If it's a professional one in a city or castle, I think it doesn't quite work as well as it feels sloppy and messy. Plus, who cleans up after? That's not a problem for a battlefield beheading where you leave the body, though.
-No basket, move head somewhere else in preparation.
--- Same as above, though at least in this case gathering the head rather than letting it roll around and then do nothing.
-Keep with body for burial/disposal.
--- Works best in conjunction with basket and one head per basket/removing head from basket to reunite with corpse, and for when the dignity of the condemned is being kept in high regard.
-Display the head somewhere public.
--- Works best for executions as a show of force, such as beheading brigands and displaying them as a warning at the city gates or what you did with "Times of Bronze and Stone"

I have a personal preference for heads on display in fantasies where the disregard for the victim's body is a point, though other fantasies where there is regard are also fun. The former might be say, a common bandit losing her head and being put up as a warning while her body goes to into a charnel pit or mass grave, the latter for something such as a defeated knight unable to pay her ransom losing her head because of it (yet because of her rank, being given the dignity and treatment of proper burial and not being displayed)


Hope these opinions help!

 

I like a nice basket with pretty satin bows and a satin pillow to recieve my head from the guillotine or axe and block. I also like a nice platter to display my head on a lovely table ❤️

 

And… how many in the basket depends on whom I am sharing it with lol

 

Quote by HeadsmanUK

Basket, then lift the severed head by her hair to show the crowd before placing on a spike for display while the next victim is led to the block/guillotine

Yes displaying a lady’s head like that is lovely

 

Here is a bunch, I found these in Deviant Art They have great AI stuff.

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