Uploaded August 2019 | Updated September 2026, 28 minutes ago
William the Scabby was lead out to the scaffold on which he was to be hanged. A rebel against the Anglo-Norman rule, he had been sentenced to death on 13 counts of Homicide. Now it was time for him to meet his maker. Except, that is not how the story ends, for though William was hanged “until dead”, he was not to stay as such and later in the day, his miraculous resurrection was witnessed by a large proportion of the population of Swansea, including the highly experienced executioner himself.
SOURCES:
Hanska, J. (2001). The hanging of William Cragh: anatomy of a miracle. Journal of Medieval History, 27(2), pp.121-138.
Bartlett, R. (2006). The hanged man: A Story of Miracle, Memory and Colonialism in the Middle Ages. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
Medievalswansea.ac.uk. (2019). The Story / The Twice-Hanged William Cragh | City Witness. [online] Available at: medievalswansea.ac.uk/en/the-story/the-twice-hanged-william-cragh [Accessed 1 Aug. 2019].
Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vatican MS Lat. 4015
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For extended show notes, including maps, links and scripts, head over to darkhistories.com
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: patreon.com/darkhistories
Connect with us on Facebook: facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: instagram.com/dark_histories
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: discord.gg/6f7e2pt
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.
William the Scabby was lead out to the scaffold on which he was to be hanged. A rebel against the Anglo-Norman rule, he had been sentenced to death on 13 counts of Homicide. Now it was time for him to meet his maker. Except, that is not how the story ends, for though William was hanged “until dead”, he was not to stay as such and later in the day, his miraculous resurrection was witnessed by a large proportion of the population of Swansea, including the highly experienced executioner himself.
SOURCES:
Hanska, J. (2001). The hanging of William Cragh: anatomy of a miracle. Journal of Medieval History, 27(2), pp.121-138.
Bartlett, R. (2006). The hanged man: A Story of Miracle, Memory and Colonialism in the Middle Ages. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
Medievalswansea.ac.uk. (2019). The Story / The Twice-Hanged William Cragh | City Witness. [online] Available at: medievalswansea.ac.uk/en/the-story/the-twice-hanged-william-cragh [Accessed 1 Aug. 2019].
Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vatican MS Lat. 4015
------
For extended show notes, including maps, links and scripts, head over to darkhistories.com
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: patreon.com/darkhistories
Connect with us on Facebook: facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: instagram.com/dark_histories
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: discord.gg/6f7e2pt
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.
