gibbet

gibbet, a primitive form of gallows. It was a custom at one time—though not part of the legal sentence—to hang the body of an executed criminal in chains. This was known as gibbeting.

The word gibbet is taken from the French gibet (“gallows”). Its earliest use in English appears to have meant a crooked stick, but it came to be used synonymously with gallows. Its later and more specialized application, however, was to the upright posts with a projecting arm on which the bodies of criminals were suspended after their execution. These gibbets were erected in conspicuous spots, on the tops of hills or near frequented roads. The bodies, smeared with pitch or tallow to prevent too rapid decomposition, hung in chains as a warning to evildoers.

Because gibbets were intended to act as a long-lasting deterrent, they were sturdily built, and preventive measures were put in place to discourage friends or family members of the executed from removing their bodies. Thus gibbets would often become local landmarks, with either the structures themselves (Gibbet Hill, Gallows Lane) or the name of the convicted criminal becoming embedded in the local geography. From the gruesome custom comes the common use of the words “to gibbet” for any holding up to public infamy or contempt.