Editing Hangman's knot

{{Short description|Noose for Suicide}}
{{For|the film|Hangman's Knot{{!}}''Hangman's Knot''}}
{{Redirect|Hangman's noose|the film|Hangman's Noose{{!}}''Hangman's Noose''}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2011}}

{{Infobox knot
| name = Hangman's knot
| names = hangman's noose, collar
| image = Узел эшафотный.gif
| caption = 
| type = 
| type2 = 
| strength = 
| origin = 
| related = 
| releasing = 
| uses = [[Hanging]]
| caveat = 
| abok_number = #1119, #366
| conway_notation = 
| ab_notation = 
| instructions = 
}}

The '''hangman's knot'''<ref name="The Ashley Book of Knots">{{cite book |title=The Ashley Book of Knots |first1=Clifford W. |last1=Ashley |publisher=[[Faber and Faber]] |date=1993 |page=59 |isbn=9780571096596 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e-p1QgAACAAJ |access-date=March 19, 2022}}</ref> or '''hangman's noose'''<ref name="The Complete Guide to Knots and Knot Tying">{{cite book |title=The Complete Guide to Knots and Knot Tying |first=Geoffrey |last=Budworth |publisher=Lorenz Books |date=2000 |page=198 |isbn=9780754804222 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-_DngEACAAJ |access-date=March 19, 2022}}</ref> (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==
[[File:National Museum of Crime and Punishmen - Hangman Rope from Don Jail 1915 (2869481808).jpg|thumb|Hangman's rope displayed at the [[National Museum of Crime & Punishment]], [[Washington, D.C.]] A label with the title "Hangman Rope/Noose" shown attached to the noose reads, "This hangman rope/noose was purportedly used at the historical [[Don Jail]] in [[Toronto]], [[Canada]] to hang a man named [[Hangman's Graveyard#Jan Ziolko|Jan Ziolko]] in April of 1915."]]
[[File:Gallow - british jail.jpg|thumb|The gallow was in use in the old jail in [[Jerusalem]] during the [[Mandatory Palestine|British mandate]].]]
Surviving [[noose]]s in the United Kingdom show simple slipknots that were superseded in the late 19th century with a metal eye spliced into one end of the rope, the noose being formed by passing the other end through it.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.
[[File:Henkersknoten.png|thumb|Steps for tying a hangman's knot.]]

Each additional coil adds friction to the knot, which makes the noose harder to pull closed or open. When [[Grover Cleveland]] was the sheriff of Erie County, he performed two hangings. Cleveland was advised by a more experienced Sheriff to grease the rope with [[tallow]] and run it through the knot a few times to ensure rapid closure with the drop. The number of coils should therefore be adjusted depending on the intended use, the type and thickness of rope, and environmental conditions such as wet or greasy rope. One coil makes it equivalent to the simple [[running knot]].

[[Woody Guthrie]] sings of the hangman using thirteen coils:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.woodyguthrie.org/Lyrics/Hangknot_Slipknot.htm |title=Hangknot, Slipknot |publisher=Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc. & TRO-Ludlow Music, Inc. |access-date=May 29, 2022}}</ref>

<blockquote><poem>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.</poem></blockquote>

==See also==
*[[List of knots]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ''[[The Ashley Book of Knots]]'' discusses this knot in the entry for drawing #1119

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Hangman's nooses}}
* [https://www.animatedknots.com/noose-knot How to tie a Noose Knot using Step-by-Step Animations]

{{Knots}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hangman's Knot}}
[[Category:Execution equipment]]
[[Category:Hanging]]
[[Category:Running knots]]