Ever heard of the Münster Rebellion and the execution of Jan Van Leiden?

Fascinating story. Dan Carlin did probably my favorite one off Hardcore History on it called
Prophets of Doom

Highly recommend it.

Anyway, spoiler alert, the anabaptists' coup fails after a year of violence, bloodshed and cannibalism.
The Prince-bishop's troops battered down the walls using cannons with names like "The Devil." and "His Mother."


After the siege was over, Jan Van Leiden, the leader of the movement, was publicly executed over 6 hours. Using tongs heated in a brazier, they ripped chunks of his skin out, methodically, to maximize pain and suffering.


If the condemned passed out, they would revive them and resume the torture.


They ripped off his genitals and burned them. He and his cohorts were slowly torn to bits, then executed with a dagger to the heart to finish them...but it was not over.




Once the torture and execution were complete, their bodies were loaded into cages and hoisted 40 feet in the air from St. Lambert's Church, where they desiccated and rotted, until nothing but their bones remained.



These cages hung with the skeletons of the condemned for centuries, a grisly reminder of the fate that awaited those who might follow in their footsteps.

A short video on it.


Just a fascinating piece of history.