Hanged, drawn and quartered facts for kids

To be hanged, drawn and quartered was, from 1352 after the Treason Act 1351, a statutory penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reign of King Henry III (1216–1272).

Afterwards, their bodies would then often be displayed in prominent places across the country, such as London Bridge, to serve as a warning of the fate of traitors.

A person had committed high treason if they were:

• compassing or imagining the death of the king, his wife or his eldest son and heir;
• levying war against the king in his realm;
• adhering to the king's enemies in his realm, giving them aid and comfort in his realm or elsewhere;
• counterfeiting the Great Seal or the Privy Seal, or the king's coinage;
• knowingly importing counterfeit money;
• killing the Chancellor, Treasurer or one of the king's Justices while performing their offices

Images for kids

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  Edward I Longshanks, King of England (1272–1307)

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  Edward III, under whose rule the Treason Act 1351 was enacted. It defined in law what constituted high treason.