Medieval Torture Devices and The Inquisition

1
Medieval Torture Devices
2
Torture was used during the Middle Ages for three
reasons

• To force confessions or secret information from
  those accused
• To discourage dissent and intellectual freedom
• To persuade Jews, Muslims, and other
  non-believers to accept Christianity

3

• The Pictures you are about to see were drawn
  during Medieval times.
• Make special note of how often clergy members
  are depicted in each sketch.

4
Iron Maiden
Spikes in the Iron Maiden were strategically
located to avoid major organs, thereby prolonging
the inevitable death of the accused.
5
The Interrogation Chair

• This was painful from the start and only got
  worse. Pain could be increased by beating on the
  limbs.

6
Lockup Cell

• Small villages often had only a small lockup for
  holding criminals.There were no windows, no
  chamberpots and it was never cleaned. A person
  had to sit in their own vomit and waste, and in
  the persons before them, and before them..and
  before them..

7
Public Humiliation

• Hunger, thirst, bad weather and jeers (along with
  stones and rotten fruit) of passersby made this
  treatment nastier than it looks. Afterwards, the
  victim often left town if at all possible.

8
Gossips Bridle
The bridle was used to silence women who nagged,
questioned authority, or gossiped. It was painful
as well as humiliating, for the gag had a barbed
tongue-piece.
9
Ducking Stool

• Three dips was common treatment for socially
  difficult women or habitually drunk men. How
  long the victim stayed under depended on public
  opinion.

10

• Tying the offender to a horse, bull or wild
  animal and driving it away in a panic was not
  always fatal. But it did get rid of the fellow!

11
The Wheel
The Wheel produced such violent disturbances in
the body as it was swung around that it could
kill.The only marks it produced were bruises
around the eyes.
12
Whipping

• Done publicly and with a variety of instruments,
  the most popular was whipping in front of a crowd
  with brambles or a tree switch with stickers.

13

• Used to extract confessions, fire was a wonderful
  tool!

14
Quartering

• The criminal had each limb tied to a horse and
  then the horses were sent out in 4 different
  directions, ripping the limbs from the body.
  Sometimes, bets were made on which portion of the
  body the head would be carried away with.

15

• While prisoners were restrained in the dungeon,
  rats and vermin could crawl freely over their
  bodies, gnawing on fingers, toes, ears, and
  noses. This could be encouraged by pouring hot
  bacon fat over the prisoner.

16
Pressing

• Weights were added to the victims chest a little
  at a time until he eventually suffocated.

17
The Rack

• Usually the shoulder joints were displaced first,
  followed by the knees. If the torture continued,
  the victims abdomen would tear open next.

18
Water Torture

• Water was poured into the mouth through a funnel
  while the nose was clamped shut, forcing the
  victim to swallow to breathe. After a few quarts,
  one would either drown in his own vomit or his
  stomach would rupture.

19
Star-Kicking

• Strips of paper were placed between the victims
  toes and set afire.

20
Stocks

• A few hours in the stocks could be a death
  penalty for some unpopular people. Since a victim
  could not reach his face to wipe it, some would
  actually suffocate by the volume of things thrown
  at them by the passing crowd.

21
The End