During the "Ancien Regime", royal executioners held an unholy status, and would strike up fear in the crowds as they walked the streets of Paris. But with the Revolution, the role of executioners in society was reformed, and whilst they lost some of their privileges, they were ushered into to a new, universalist France. And as the Revolution brought forward more and more enemies of the state, executioners were faced with more victims than the axe could handle. This, combined with an ever growing debate around the humanity and dignity of executions, would lead to the invention of a killing machine still used by the French state more than 150 years later…

Join Tom and Dominic in the third part of our second season of the French Revolution, as they look at gruesome methods of execution under the French monarchy, the changing role of executioners, how the Guillotine came to loom so large over the fate of so many…

_______LIVE SHOWS*The Rest Is History LIVE in the U.S.A.*If you live in the States, we've got some great news: Tom and Dominic will be performing throughout America in November, with shows in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and New York.*The Rest Is History LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall*Tom and Dominic, accompanied by a live orchestra, take a deep dive into the lives and times of two of history’s greatest composers: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven.Tickets on sale now at TheRestIsHistory.com_______Twitter:@TheRestHistory@holland_tom@dcsandbrookProducer: Theo Young-SmithAssistant Producer: Anouska Lewis + Becki Hills Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony PastorLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices