Hangman's knot

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Hangman's knot
Names	Hangman's knot, hangman's noose, collar
Typical use	Hanging
ABoK	#1119, #366

The hangman's knot^[1] or hangman's noose^[2] (also known as a collar during the Elizabethan era) is a knot most often associated with its use in hanging a person.

Function

This knot was typically used as a method of capital punishment. The pull on the knot at end of the gallows often resulted in a cervical fracture. Another method intended to result in the mass of the knot crushing closed (occluding) neck arteries, causing cessation of brain circulation, which was not always rapid. The knot is non-jamming but tends to resist attempts to loosen it.

In culture

Surviving nooses in the United Kingdom show simple slipknots that were superseded in the late 19th century with a metal eye spliced into one end of the rope, the noose being formed by passing the other end through it. The classic hangman's knot was largely developed in the United States. Filmed hangings of war criminals in Europe after World War II, conducted under US jurisdiction, show such knots placed in various locations.

Each additional coil adds friction to the knot, which makes the noose harder to pull closed or open. When

Woody Guthrie sings of the hangman using thirteen coils:^[3]

Did you ever see a hangman tie a hangknot?
I've seen it many a time and he winds, he winds,
After thirteen times he's got a hangknot.

See also

• List of knots

References