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‘Watched’ Presents 10 terrifying torture techniques from the
middle ages Number 10: Impalement
If you were Vlad the Impaler of 15th century Romania, you simply impaled your victims by
forcing them to sit on a sharp and thick pole. The pole was then raised upright and the victim
was left to slide further down the pole by his or her own weight.
Often, the pole would emerge through the sternum so that its tip could be placed under the
chin to prevent further sliding. It could take the victim three days to die from this.
Vlad did this to around 20,000 people during his time and it is said he enjoyed having
a meal while watching impalements. Number 9: Judas Cradle
The Judas Cradle was perhaps a little less sadistic than impalement but still gruesome.
The victim’s *** or *** would be placed over the point of the pyramid-shaped cradle,
then lowered on it by ropes. The intended effect was to stretch the orifice over a long
period of time, or to slowly impale. The victim was usually naked, adding to the
overall humiliation of the torture and sometimes weights were added to the legs to increase
the pain and hasten death. This torture could last anywhere from a few hours to complete
days. The device was rarely washed, so the victim could also be plagued with a painful
infection. Number 8: Coffin Torture
The Coffin Torture was feared in the Middle Ages, and is often seen in films as a main
use of punishment. The victim was placed inside a metal cage roughly made in the shape of
the human body. Torturers could force overweight victims into a smaller device, or even make
the "coffin" slightly larger than a victim’s body to make him more uncomfortable.
Serious crimes, such as heresy or blasphemy, were punished by death inside the coffin where
the victim was placed under the sun allowing birds or animals to eat his or her flesh.
Sometimes onlookers would throw rocks and other objects to further increase the pain.
Number 7: The Rack Who could forget the dreaded rack, commonly
believed to be the most painful form of medieval torture? It consisted of a wooden frame usually
with two ropes fixed to the bottom and another two tied to a handle in the top. As the torturer
turned the handle, the ropes would pull the victim's arms, eventually dislocating bones
with a loud crack. If the torturer kept turning the handles some of the limbs were torn right
off the body. In the later Middle Ages, a new variant of
rack appeared. Spikes were added that penetrated the victim's back when he or she were forced
to lie on table. As the limbs were pulled apart, so was the spinal cord, increasing
not only the physical pain, but the psychological pain of knowing that, even if he or she were
to survive, mobility of any kind would be lost forever.
Number 6: The Breast Ripper Used as a horrible punishment for women, the
breast ripper was used to inflict pain, blood loss and the mutilation of their ***.
It was usually used for women accused of conducting abortions or of adultery.
The claws were often placed, red hot, on the victim's exposed ***, the spikes penetrating
to achieve a powerful grasp. They were then pulled to rip off or shred the ***. If
the victim wasn't killed she would be scarred for life as her *** were literally torn
apart. Number 5: The Pear of Anguish
This brutal instrument was used to torture women who performed abortions, liars, blasphemers
and homosexuals. The pear-shaped instrument was inserted into one of the victim's orifices:
the *** for women, the *** for homosexuals and the mouth for liars and blasphemers.
The instrument consisted of four leaves that slowly separated from each other as the torturer
turned the screw at the top. The device would tear the skin at the very least or expand
to mutilate the victim’s orifice. It could dislocated or break the jawbones
Pears of Anguish still in existence are lavishly engraved or adorned to differentiate between
the ***, vaginal and oral pears. This torture rarely brought death, but was often followed
by other torture methods. Number 4: The Breaking Wheel
Also called The Catherine Wheel, this device always killed its victim, but did so very
slowly. The victim's limbs were tied to the spokes of a large wooden wheel. The wheel
was then slowly revolved while the torturer smashed the victims’ limbs with an iron
hammer, breaking them in many places. Once his bones were broken, he was left on
the wheel to die. Sometimes the wheel was placed on a tall pole so birds could pick
and eat the flesh of the still-living human. It could take up to two or three days for
him to die of dehydration. Number 3: Saw Torture
Saws were was common torture devices because they were readily found in most houses and
no complex devices were required. It was a cheap way to torture and kill a victim accused
of witchery, adultery, ***, blasphemy or even theft.
The victim was tied upside down, allowing blood to be diverted to the brain. This ensured
that the victim maintained consciousness for as long as possible, it slowed the loss of
blood and caused maximum humiliation. The torture could last several hours.
While some victims were cut completely in half as a symbolic gesture, most were only
cut up to their abdomen to prolong the time it took to die.
Number 2: The Head Crusher The head crusher was a popular torture method
used by the Spanish Inquisition, among other users. The chin was placed over a bottom bar
and the head under an upper cap. The torturer slowly turned the screw, pressing the bar
against the cap. The head was then slowly compressed, first shattering the teeth into
the jaw, then a slow death with agonizing pain. Some variants of this device included
small containers that received the eyeballs as they were squeezed out of the victims’
eye sockets. This instrument was an effective way to extract
confessions, as the period of pain could be prolonged for many hours if the torturer chose
to. If the torture was stopped midway, the victim often had irreparable damage done to
the brain, jaw or eyes. Number 1: The Knee Splitter
Another tool favoured by the Spanish Inquisition because of its versatility, was the knee splitter.
It was a vice-like instrument with sharp spikes outfitted on both sides of the grip. As the
torturer turned the handle, the claws slowly squeezed against each other mutilating and
penetrating the skin and bones of the knee. Although its use rarely resulted in death,
the effect was to render the knees completely useless. It was also used on other body parts
including elbows, arms and even the lower legs.
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