France in the 18th century had a fascination with bloodshed and executions.
The Reign of Terror following the execution of the French King and Queen saw thousands
of people being killed on the guillotine, the device which was created to efficiently
take the lives of many people.
But before the revolution, there was a man who was condemned to death for the attempted
assassination of King Louis XV in 1757, and he was subject to an incredibly horrific and
sadistic execution which did go wrong.
But what is the story of the death of Robert Francois Damiens, to support our channel please
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Robert Francois Damiens was born in January 1715 near to Arras and from a young age he
joined the army.
He was then discharged and he worked as a servant inside of the college of Jesuits in
Paris, and he was later sacked from this and many other jobs and he then gained the nickname
Robert the Devil.
Many believe that he was insane, or suffered from delusions, however he would later claim
that he was agitated by religion, and he then began to blame the King Louis XV for this,
and he then began to plot.
On the 5th January 1757, at 4pm in the afternoon and as the King was climbing into his carriage
at the palace of versailles, Robert Damiens pushed past the Kings bodyguards and pulled
out his penknife and he then stabbed the King.
He only made a small ywound into the King.
He then didn’t even try to escape and was jumped on by the bodyguards and was then arrested.
The King’s thick winter clothes added a layer of protection, and the Knife went less
than half an inch into his chest.
But Louis was bleeding, and he did worry that he would die and he even asked a Confessor
to be brought to his side.
The Queen even came to her husbands side and she allegedly prayed for his forgiveness as
he had a number of sinful affairs and she worried this would not allow him to gain access
to heaven.
Robert Francois Damiens was then taken away to prison, and he was tortured to reveal any
information of any people who may have helped him or sent him to try and assassinate the
French King.
He was then brought to trial, after his torture was unsuccessful, and he did not name any
other accomplices.
However at his trial, he was brought in front of two judges, and because of how dangerous
he was considered to be and unpredictable, he was tied down and secured on a bed with
guards armed with swords stood over him, and he was held down by belts in a form of a straight
jacket.
However for attempting to kill the French King, he was condemned as a regicide by the
Parliament of Paris, and he was sentenced to be drawn and quartered by horses.
This was a different punishment to being hanged, drawn and quartered, as horses would literally
be attached to the limbs of a prisoner, before they were sent in different directions and
would pull someone to pieces.
On the 28th March 1757, Robert Damiens was brought from his prison cell and was taken
for his execution and on his way he said, ‘The day will be hard.’
He was first when he was brought to his place of execution tortured.
His legs were painfully compressed in a device known as the boots, and then he was tortured
with red hot pincers.
The hand which he held the knife in that lunged at the king was then branded and burned using
sulphur, molten lead, molten wax and then boiling oil was poured into his wounds which
was completely agonising.
He was then handed over to the French royal executioner, Charles Henri Samson, who then
cut off Robert’s genitals, and he was then harnessed and tied to horses.
His arms and legs were secured to different horses, and then they were scared and driven
off in different directions, however this did not go well.
To begin with his limbs did not separate well, and the officials then ordered the executioner
to sever his tendons in his limbs, and once this was done, the horses were driven off
again and he was dismembered.
The crowd applauded and cheered, and it was said that his still living torso was then
burned at the stake, and others claimed that he died following the removal of his last
arm.
It’s believed Robert Francois Damiens’ last words were ‘O death why art thou so
long in coming,’ and he cried out for mercy from God.
One witness said of his execution that, ‘We had the courage to watch the dreadful sight
for four hours ... Damiens was a fanatic, who, with the idea of doing a good work and
obtaining a heavenly reward, had tried to assassinate Louis XV; and though the attempt
was a failure, and he only gave the king a slight wound, he was torn to pieces as if
his crime had been consummated. ...
I was several times obliged to turn away my face and to stop my ears as I heard his piercing
shrieks, half of his body having been torn from him, Was it because their hearts were
hardened?
They told me, and I pretended to believe them, that their horror at the wretch's wickedness
prevented them feeling that compassion which his unheard-of torments should have excited.’
Following his death, the remains of Damiens corpse were reduced to ashes and they were
then scattered in the wind.
His house was razed to the ground, and many of his family members were forced to change
their names and his father, wife and daughter were eventually banished from France.
But this was a shocking act of regicide which had not been seen for over 150 years in France,
however Damiens became an infamous criminal even after his death.
However Robert Fracious Damiens was a notorious criminal who tried to take to life of King
Louis XV.
He was a man who seemed disturbed and suffered with delusions, and he was incredibly disaffected
and he blamed the monarchy for many of his issues.
However he met a terribly brutal end, and was executed in horrific scenes in Paris,
a place in the following decades which would be brutal, and the bloodshed would run through
the streets during the French Revolution.
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