Although his body was quartered, he was still alive: Who is Robert Francois Damiens?

The perpetrator of an assassination attempt on Louis XV (La Tieuloy, Arras 1715-Paris 1757). The son of a bankrupt farmer's family, he became a butler. He thought that God had tasked him with warning Louis XV and reminding him of his duty by slightly wounding him.

On January 5, 1757, he very lightly wounded the king in the right shoulder with a pocket knife. He was arrested, and subjected to terrible tortures, first, his right hand holding the knife was burned, molten lead and boiling olive oil were poured into his wounds, then his limbs were torn off by horses as per the punishment for those who tried to kill the kings, the torture lasted for four hours (28 March).

He is a Frenchman who became notorious after his failed assassination attempt on King Louis XV of France in 1757. He is the last person to be executed by the traditional and brutal method of dividing into four by dragging, which is applied to regicide in France.

The tortures of Damiens

First, he was tortured with hot pincers, and the hand holding the knife was burned with sulfur, wax, and hot oil. Then the horses were tied in such a way that he divided his body into four parts. Damiens' limbs did not come off easily, and a few hours later the deputies of parliament, the executioner, and his aides were ordered to amputate the knuckles in his arms and feet. So Damiens was divided into four to the applause of the crowd. His still-living body was burned at the stake.

After his death, his home was destroyed, his siblings were forced to change their surnames, and his family was exiled from France.

----------------------

1757: the execution of Robert Francois Damiens – why it haunts John Eagle, the Uncommon Attorney, and why it haunts his creator

https://milescraven.wordpress.com/2014/11/05/1757-the-execution-of-robert-francois-damiens-why-it-haunts-john-eagle-the-uncommon-attorney-and-why-it-haunts-his-creator/