Decapitation has been used as a form of
capital punishment for millennia. The terms "capital offence", "capital crime", "capital punishment," derive from the Latin
caput, "head", referring to the punishment for serious offences involving the forfeiture of the head;
i.e., death by beheading.
[6] Decapitation by sword (or axe, a military weapon as well) was sometimes considered the honourable way to die for an
aristocrat, who, presumably being a warrior, could often expect to die by the sword in any event; in England it was considered the privilege of noblemen to be beheaded. This would be distinguished from a dishonourable death on the
gallows or through
burning at the stake. In medieval England, the punishment for
high treason was to be
hanged, drawn and quartered but in the case of
nobles and
knights it was often commuted to beheading; female commoner traitors were
burned at the stake.
In countries where beheading was the usual means of capital punishment, such as in Scandinavia, the noblemen would be beheaded with a sword, symbolizing their class as a military caste, thus dying by an instrument of war, while the commoners would be beheaded with an axe.[
citation needed]
However, in some countries such as China, decapitation is considered as a less honourable capital punishment than other ways like
the gallows or
poisoning because of differing cultural values. For example, Chinese believe that to separate any part of the body from oneself intentionally is disrespectful to his or her ancestors, who have brought the person's life.[
citation needed]
