Research

TORTURE

There are different and many types of torture they used in the Medieval Times. There are around 35 different tortures they used back in the Medieval Times. The top 9 tortures were, Coffin Torture, The Chair of Torture, The Pear of Anguish, The Breast Ripper, The Head Crusher, Saw Torture, The Spanish Tickler, Thumbscrew Torture and Knee Splitter.

Coffin Torture – Very serious crimes, such as blasphemy, were punished by death inside the coffin where the victim was to be kept inside under the sun with animals eating his or her flesh.

The Chair of Torture – To avoid movement, the victim’s wrists were tied to the chair or, in one version; two bars pushed the arms against arm-rests for the spikes to penetrate the flesh even further.

The Pear of Anguish – The instrument consisted of four leaves that slowly separated from each other as the torturer turned the screw at the top. It was the torturer’s decision to simply tear the skin. The Pear of Anguish was usually much adorned to differentiate between the anal, vaginal and oral pears. They also varied in size accordingly.

The Breast Ripper – This instrument was mostly reserved for women accused of conducting a miscarriage or those accused of adultery. The claws were used either hot or cold on the victim’s exposed breasts. If the victim wasn’t killed she would be scarred for life as her breasts were literally torn apart.

The Head Crusher – The chin placed over the bottom bar and the head under the upper cap, the torturer slowly turned the screw pressing the bar against the cap.

Saw Torture – While some victims were cut completely in half as a symbolical gesture, most had only up to their abdomen cut, this was done to prologue the time of death. It sometimes took several hours to do.

The Spanish Tickler – The Spanish Tickler varied in shape and size. Some were long and had a pole attached to the rear so the torturer could tear the skin from a distance, while others were nothing but the claw itself.

Thumbscrew Torture – The victim’s fingers were placed inside the instrument and slowly crushed as the torturer turned the handle on top. This method was primarily used to extract confessions as it was both painful and very lasting.

Knee Splitter – The knee splitter, a terrible torture, was mostly used during the inquisition. What this instrument accomplished was to permanently render the knees useless.