|
"Fear is
the basis of the whole - fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear
of death. Fear is the
Reaching its peak in the 12th century, torture was used both in capital cases as well as against suspected heretics, where from the mid-14th century to the end of the 18th century it became a common and sanctioned part of the legal proceedings of most European countries approved by the inquisition in cases of heresy. The most common means of torture thus included were burning, beating and suffocating, however, the techniques as followed were some of the more extravagant and most depraved methods used and allowed by the Roman Catholic Church.
Torture room in the Inquisition cathedral in Nuremberg
The Rack was an instrument of torture often used in the Middle Ages, and was a popular means of extracting confession. Here, the victim was tied across a board by their ankles and wrists, rollers at either end of the board were then turned by pulling the body in opposite directions until dislocation of every joint occurred. According to Puigblanch, quoted in Mason's History of the Inquisition, "in this attitude he experienced eight strong contortions in his limbs, namely, two of the fleshy parts of the arms above the elbows, and two below; one on each thigh, and also on the legs." Bound, the heretic could then be subjected to other forms of torture for the exaltation of their faith.
Other forms included the detainee being fastened in a groove upon a table on his or her back. Suspended above was a large pendulum, the ball of which consisted of a sharp edge on the lower section, with the pendulum lengthening with every stroke. The victim sees this engine of destruction swinging to and fro only a short distance from their eyes. Momentarily, the keen edge comes nearer, and at length cuts the skin, and gradually cuts deeper and deeper, until the victims life has fully expired.
With their feet in the stocks, two pieces of timber clamped together, over and under, with both across each leg above the ankles. The soles of their feet then having been greased with lard, a blazing brazier was applied to them, and they were first blistered and then fried. At intervals, a board was interposed between the fire and their feet and then removed once they disobeyed the command to confess themselves of guilt for which they had been charged.
Being more painful, but less
fatal than racking, this was the torture most in vogue when the subject
chanced to be female. It was also favored in cases where children were
to be persuaded to testify against their parents. Slighter tortures
consisted of binding a piece of iron to a limb and putting a twister to
force it inwards, as was pressing the fingers with rods between
them, or removing a nail from fingers or toes, which were all practiced
upon persons of not sufficient strength to support the pulley, rack, or
fire. The victim's nostrils were pinched shut, and eight quarts of fluid were poured down the victim's throat through a funnel. Other techniques included a forced cloth inserted down the throat, while pouring water, which generated a swallowing reflex pushing it further down into the stomach lining producing all the agonies of suffocation by drowning until the victim lost consciousness. Instead of water, the torture was sometimes also conducted with boiling water or vinegar. Death occured from distention, or rupturing of the stomach. One of the many cases recorded by the Inquisition was in 1598, here concerning a captured man being accused as a werewolf and "possesed by a demon" while in prison. The offical report states only that he had such a thirst that he drank a large tubful of water so that his belly was "distended and hard", and thus later died. This instrument consisted of two fleeting forks one set
against the other, with four prongs being inserted into the flesh under
the chin and above the chest, with hands secured firmly behind the
back. A small collar supported the instrument in such a manner that the
victims were usually forced to hold their head erect, thus preventing
any movement. The forks did not penetrate any vital points, and thus
suffering was prolonged and death was always nearly avoided. The
pointed prongs on each end to hoist the head made speech or movement
near impossible. The Heretics Fork became very common during the height
of
the Spanish Inquisition.
The Pear was a torture device used on females. This device was inserted into the vagina or mouth and then expanded by force of the screw to the maximum aperture setting of the victims cavity. The antrum would then irremediably become lacerated, nearly always fatally, ripping the tissue, flesh and membranes. The Pear became extensively applied also during the Spanish Inquisition upon enforcing confessions from those accused of Witchcraft. The pointed prongs at the end of the segments served better to rip into the throat, the intestines or the cervix. Many paid dearly when the Pear became their fate.
The Branks, also sometimes called Dame's Bridle, or Scold's Bridle comprised of a metal facial mask and spiked mouth depressor that was implemented on housewives up until the early 19th century. Many clergymen sustained in this husband's right to handle his wife, and to use "salutary restraints in every case of misbehavior" without the intervention of what some court records of 1824 referred to as "vexatious prosecutions." Generally, a husband would need only to accuse his wife of disagreeing with his decisions, at which the Branks could be applied. The subject would then be paraded through the streets, or chained to the market cross where she was exposed to public ridicule.
The wheel was one of the most popular and
insidious methods of torture and execution practiced. The giant spiked
wheel was able to break bodies as it rolled forward, causing the most
agonizing and drawn-out death. Other forms include the "braided"
wheel, where the victim would be tied to the execution dock or
platform. Their limbs were spread and tied to stakes or iron rings on
the ground. Slices of wood were placed under the main joints, wrists,
ankles, knees, hips and elbows. The executioner afterwards would then
smash every
joint with the iron-tyred edge of the wheel--however the executioner
would avoid fatal blows to give the victim a painful death. According
to a German chronicler, the victim was transformed into a huge
screaming puppet writhing in their own blood. It looked like a sea
monster with four tentacles, and raw slimy shapeless flesh, mixed with
splinters of bone. After this smashing had taken place, the victim
would literally be "braided" into the wheel and hung
horizontally at the top of the pole.
The name of this device speaks for itself. Women condemned of heresy, blasphemy, adultery and witchcraft often felt the wrath of this device while it lacerated the breast from the torso. It was also implemented into service during the massacre of the Danes.
These cages were usually hung around the outsides of town halls, ducal palaces, or near the town's hall of justice. The victim, naked and exposed, would slowly wither from hunger and thirst. The weather would second the victims death by heat stroke and sunburn in the summer and cold in the winter. The victims and corpses were normally previously mutilated before being place inside the cage to make a more edifying example of the punishment. The cadavers were left in the cages until the bones literally fell apart.
Originally the garotte was simply hanging by another name. However, during Medieval times, executioners began to refine the use of rope until it became as feared and as vile as any serious punishments. Executioners first used the garotte to end the suffering of heretics broken on the wheel, but by the turn of the 18th century the seed of an idea involving slow strangulation was planted in the minds of lawmakers. At first, garottes were nothing more than an upright post with a hole bored through. The victim would stand or sit on a seat in front of the post and chanting crowd, and a rope was looped around his or her neck. The ends of the cords were fed through the hole in the post. The executioner would then pull on both ends of the cord, or twist them tourniquet-styled, slowly strangling the victim. Later modifications included a spike fixed into the wood frame at the back of the victim's neck, parting the vertebrae as the rope tighten.
With the victims chin placed on the
lower bar, a screw then forces the cap down on the victims cranium. The
recipients teeth are crushed and forced into the sockets to smash the
surrounding bone. The eyes are compressed from their sockets and brain
from the fractured skull. This device, although not a form of capital
punishment, is still used for interrogational purposes. It was to
inflict extreme agony and shock and leave the victim in its grasp for
hours. Other methods included the head screw (below) which was placed
around the forehead and tighten. The accused became so frantic by the
extreme panic of having their head crushed that they confessed to
anything.
If the Inquisitor wanted to be sure no
relics were left behind by an accused and convicted heretic, he would
select death by burning at the stake as the preferred method of
execution. With few exceptions, death came from being burned alive.
Frequently, burning a victim at the stake was cause for a crowd. Not
content to merely learn about the spectacle after it was over, the
masses wanted to be entertained. Reflecting on those facts, and
understanding such events occurred "under the law," one can clearly
understand how Thomas Hobbes (this is a contemporary biography) came to
the conclusions he did about man in a state of nature. If man is
capable of such violence and inhumanity in a state of civilization, of
what is he capable when there are no laws and there is no society? (Carole D. Bos)
The Iron Maiden or Virgin of Nuremberg was a tomb-sized
container with folding doors. The object was to inflict punishment,
then death. Upon the inside of the door were vicious spikes. As the
prisoner was shut inside he or she would be pierced along the length of
their body, though the talons were not designed to kill outright. The
pinioned
prisoner was left to slowly perish in the utmost pain. Some models
included two spikes that were driven into the eyes causing blindness.
One of these diabolical machines was exhibited in 1892.
One of the most common torture
techniques. All one needed to set up a strappado was a sturdy rafter
and a rope. The victim's wrists were bound behind their back, and the
rope would be tossed over the beam. The victim was repeatedly dropped
from a height, so that their arms and shoulders would dislocate. This
was a punishment of the Secret Tribunal until 1820.
Also known as the bootikens. The legs of the patient were usually placed between two planks of wood, which they binded with cords and wedges. The torturer used a large, heavy hammer to pound the wedges, driving them closer together. Forceful blows were used to squeeze the legs to jelly, lacerating flesh, protruding the shins, and crushing the bones; sometimes so that marrow gushed out. Once unloosed the bones fall to pieces, rendering the legs useless. This torture was most overwhelming, as one can imagine.
The victim was stripped, hoisted and hung over this pointed pyramid with iron belts. Their legs were stretched out frontwards, or their ankles pulled down by weights. The tormentor would then drop the accused onto the pyramid penetrating both orifices. With their muscles contracted, they were usually unable to relax and fall asleep. As mentioned by Anne Barstowe, The torturers took high advantage of positions of authority to indulge in the most pornographic sessions of sexual control over heretics.
|
Medieval Torture Devices
