Medieval Torture

The Medieval period was known for the rise of creativity in various forms. While creativity has been well-documented through paintings, sculptures and other artwork, others plied their creativity in creating torture devices so terrible, so horrendous that they would seem absolutely gory and unthinkable today.

But, yes they existed, even thrived, and in some cultures, had entertainment value for the medieval commoner. Once a man or a woman was convicted of heresy, illegal acts, witchcraft and the like, they would promptly be subjected to torture methods which were en vogue at the time. The torture devices in the middle ages were truly terrible and, more often than not, fatal. The point of these devices, it would seem, was to discourage acts of the accused in such a way that the onlooker would never be tempted to commit what the accused did. Medieval torture, like I said, also served as entertainment in the medieval times and was, for some reason, quite enjoyed by the people.

Medieval Torture Methods

It was all about creativity back then. The trend, I believe was probably set by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and similar, if not less terrible fate, awaited the people who dared to go against the law of the land at the time. Saying that torture techniques evolved would perhaps be the wrong thing to say. Let's just say that they kept getting more and more terrible.

Head-Crusher
One of the simplest forms of torture (although the one executed on, would beg to differ) was the head-crusher. The name tells you something about what it must be doing. Simply put, there would be this huge weight over the space where the accused was to place his head. And slowly, the head-crusher weight would be lowered. Very slowly. Till the skull of the accused would be completely and painfully mashed.

Judas Chair
The Judas chair was this pyramidal seat set atop a wooden bar. The accused would be lowered, as if they were to be seated and the top end of the pyramid would painfully course through their genitalia. If ineffective, weights would be attached to their legs which would result in better... ah... penetration.

The Wheel
Some, really creative chap came up with this deviously simple torture device. The accused would be tied, often naked, to a large wheel (pictured). The wheel would then be rolled down a rocky hill. A variation of this torture technique was to set the sloping rocky hill on fire.

The Rack
The rack was a device which came in several different variations over the years, but the underlying point remained the same throughout. The rack was a device which, in different ways, was supposed to dislocate, even sever the limbs of the accused. The limbs would be tied to a wheel-like device, which would slowly be cranked, pulling the limbs apart till they came unstuck from the body.

The Pillory
The pillory was more of a humiliation mechanism, rather than an out-and-out torture device. The hands and head of the accused would be locked in a wooden bar, in a way that he would be unable to escape. He would then be taken to the busiest square at the busiest hour, his crimes will be publicly stated and the crowd would throw, whatever they deemed fit, or whatever they found first, at the criminal and try and injure him. Stones were common and several have died at the end of the pillory.

Iron Maiden
But perhaps, the most terrible torture device which I have ever heard of, would be the Iron Maiden. It was a box which was the shape of a body and had sharp needles at one end of the thing. Worse yet, the needles were positioned in such a way that they would avoid the vital organs of the person inside, so they would slowly bleed to death. Even worse? They weren't pierced long enough to kill the person inside directly. The accused would suffer a slow, painful death, due to bleeding rather than his vitals organs failing.

Medieval torture techniques, more than anything else, were a fear inducing mechanism to deter others from committing crimes. And after seeing these methods, who would?