Name: _________________________________ Date: ________________
After reading the article “Executions, Guillotines and the French Revolution,” answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1.
How were the executions of nobles different than the executions of commoners during
Early Modern Europe?
2.
Why was the guillotine viewed as a quick and more rational means of execution than earlier methods of beheading?
3.
How did the guillotine enforce the Enlightenment ideal of equality?
4.
The numbers of aristocrats and clergy executed by guillotine were especially high. Given what you know about the French Revolution, why do you think these people were targeted?
5.
The article states that executions by guillotine lacked some of the ceremony and display of earlier forms of punishment. We know, however, that thousands of people flocked to see the daily guillotine executions. What do you think drew people to these displays?
Why did they attend them?