Execution by bludgeon

Execution by bludgeon was one of the several severe executions formulated in the Book of Laws of Loran, and used throughout the Lein Dynasty. Variations aside, records show that the punishment was mostly used as punishment for violent crimes, as well as corruption or treason.

Emperor Loran

Emperor Loran formulated several severe executions in the aftermath of his accession as Emperor, in order to quell and punish the potentially rebellious, and in any case rapacious, local militias which had formed to enforce the will of Emperor Jungi. The first recorded instance of this punishment came just several days after it was formulated, in the seventh month of the first year of Loran; thirty criminals had been sentenced to death by bludgeon in the market square of Meiron for terrorising the citizens, murders, and formulating of false judgements against people to confiscate their property.

According to records:

The men were tied first to a frame which enveloped their arms and legs, exposing only the elbows and knees; the executioners then bludgeoned the joints until they were shattered, whereupon the frames were removed and the arms and legs broken. Then they were hauled by rope to a great height, and dropped therefrom, right onto the heavy and blunt metal tips of the bludgeons; then endless strokes were given until their ribs and back were all smashed, and finally the head itself was smashed. The bodies were then hung on the South Gate for ten days.