Quartering is a form of torturous execution in which the victim is torn apart by four horses, one each attached to each limb and then driven in opposite directions. A typical example is recounted by Casanova who witnessed the execution of Damien in 1757. He recounts how every available spot within sight of the scaffold was crowded with Parisian sightseers who gloated over the doomed man's sufferings. After having his hand burned off and being subjected to the torture of boiling oil and melted lead, for hours, to the accompaniment of his piercing screams, the whip-goaded horses dragged his limbs and body apart. Research Quartering
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