Did the executioner always ask for forgiveness?
Did people always forgive the executioner?
I guess if you didn't, he could make a mess of it.
Another page says you were not only expected to forgive the executioner, but to also pay them.
The excecutioner asks for forgiveness as a religious attonement for their sin I believe.
share"he could make a mess of it"
Could and did, at least in the cases of Mary, Queen of Scots; the Countess of Salisbury and Thomas Cromwell.
I've always read that the coin the condemned person gives the executioner was payment for not botching the job. I've never heard of anyone not forgiving the executioner. I guess it's best to stay on his good side.