burning at the stake

An execution method involving burning the condemned alive. It has a long history as a form of capital punishment, and many societies have employed it for criminal activities such as treason, heresy and witchcraft.

The best-known execution of this type is burning at the stake, where the condemned is bound to a large wooden stake and a fire lit beneath them.

Perhaps the most infamous case of this execution method is when it was used to kill Jeanne d'Arc/Joan of Arc.