Gibbet of Montfaucon
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The Gibbet of Montfaucon was the main gallows and gibbet of the Kings of France until the time of Louis XIII. It was used to execute criminals, often traitors, by hanging and to display their dead bod
Detail from the Grandes Chroniques de France, by Jean Fouquet, about 1460
The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572, by François Dubois. The two top corners represent Montmartre with a windmill at left, and the Gibbet of Montfaucon on an equally steep and empty hill at right.
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
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The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. The title refers to the Notre-Dame Cathedral, which features prominently throughout the novel. It focuses on the
Gibbet of Montfaucon
…treasurers. The gibbet was a great favourite of popular historians and historical writers of the 19th century, appearing in historical novels including The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831) by Victor Hugo, Crichton (1837) by William Harrison Ainsworth, and La Reine Margot (1845) by Alexandre Dumas; both the last two tales centred…
1st edition cover
Illustration from Victor Hugo et son temps (1881)
Lon Chaney and Patsy Ruth Miller in the 1923 film adaptation