Chapel, procession and execution: the last hours of a condemned man on death row in Madrid during the 18th century and the first third of the 19th century

Abstract

Since time immemorial, the death penalty has been the sublimation of punishment and public vengeance. Over the centuries, its persuasive and pedagogical nature gave rise to a staging that was gradually refined until it reached its peak in the 19th century. From here, and using the city of Madrid as the main stage, due to its status as the Court of the Hispanic Monarchy, and thanks to the multiple primary sources we have used, we aim to reconstruct the last hours of those condemned to the final torment; From the moment they were notified of their sentence and entered the chapel, until their burial in the corresponding cemeteries; paying special attention to the helpers of the condemned and transmitters of their memory, to the ceremonial and the real journeys that these poor wretches made before meeting their maker in one of the squares in Madrid destined for this purpose.