I know it's a brutal question, I'm not looking for the gory details. I'm an aspiring fiction author, mostly a hobbyist, and I'm trying to get this right.
If a person had a lot of hair, really wild like say this guy, it just seems the hair would keep a sword from making a clean cut. I've read instances where people, previous to a beheading, put their hair up or have their heads shaved. I couldn't tell if it's because the hair got in the way, preventing a clean cut, or if it was a matter of dignity (or shame).
Let's put this in periods and places where beheadings by swords or axes and chopping blocks were the common methods (as opposed to guillotines and whatnot).
What was the historical method for this and why?
Yes, it did. Beheading was notoriously inaccurate in medieval Hungary, so much so that it was the custom that if the convict survived three strikes he was free to go. A story to illustrate: László Hunyadi (first son of Governor János Hunyadi) was sentenced to death by the King (Posthumus) László V, Hunyadi's supporters kidnapped the executioner to prevent the beheading take place. A common criminal was hired to execute the magnate, but due to lack of skill and to his strong hair Hunyadi survived three strikes. Unfortunately for him his enemies convinced the king to carry on and had him executed with the fourth strike.
Virág Benedek: Magyar századok, 1983 (don't have it with me so can't provide exact page no. right now)
