7 Horrifying medieval torture devices
If history has taught us one thing, it's that methods of torture were rather disturbing back in the olden days. Although torture still exists today, in the Middle Ages it was much more grisly, often resulting in the victim's death.
While some methods were simply designed to humiliate, such as the stocks, others were far more horrific. We're talking devices that crushed limbs, sliced off body parts and ripped arms from their sockets.
So, let's jump right in to discover some of the lovely devices invented by our ancestors designed to punish and obtain confessions!
Boiled to Death!
In 1531, Henry the VIII passed a statute in England making it legal to boil prisoners to death who had been arrested for poisoning, those who had forged coins, swindlers, and counterfeiters.
Basically, a large cauldron was filled with either water, tar, oil, tallow (animal fat) or molten lead. I imagine water would have been the popular choice, what with it being free at the time. Sometimes the victim was placed head first into the boiled water once it had reached boiling point, or placed into the cauldron before it heated and then slowly boiled. A slow and painful death.
Needless to say, this was used as a form of execution rather than extracting anything of value from the criminal, especially if they're being dunked head first.
An execution cauldron at Deventer in Netherlands
Rat Torture
Do you like rats? Perhaps considering having one as a pet? Well, before you do, let's find out what people did with these animals back in the day.
Although there are variations to this particular method, the most common one was to tie the victim to a bed or the ground, make small cuts on their belly and then place an upturned bowl with several rats trapped inside it on top of the belly.
Hot coals were placed on top of the bowl, causing it to heat up inside. This would force the rats to search for an escape route. There was only one way out: through the victim's intestines.
The hot and bothered rats would gnaw their way through the unfortunate person, resulting in a slow and painful death. If they did survive, I reckon a severe infection would have killed them eventually. Eeek, or should that be squeak?
No one took the time to sketch a victim in their death throes of rat torture, so here's a pic of a rat going about its business.
Breaking Wheel
This rather charming device is known by a few other names such as the execution wheel, wheel of Catherine, or just the wheel. This horrendous device was a wooden spoked wheel usually taken from a cart, so the outer wall of the wheel was often reinforced with an iron rim.
Victims - murderers, traitors, rapists, and robbers - who were due to be executed were taken to a public stage scaffold, which is nothing more than a raised platform for all the locals to have a good ol' ogle at the bloodthirsty drama, and be then tied down with their arms and legs splayed.
The torture was performed in two parts. The first involved bringing the wheel down hard on the victim's legs to break their bones. The arms were next. Agonising, to say the least. Timbers with sharpened tips were also placed under the legs and arms, so when the executioner brought the wheel down onto the leg, the timber would pierce the limb, adding to the agony.
The wheel executions taking place
After the initial excitement (for the crowds anyways), the victim was then tied or braided to the wheel. Their broken and shattered limbs were twisted into the wheel and secured. The wheel was then lifted onto a pole so everyone could get a really good look.
From here, the prisoner was either garrotted or decapitated, depending, I suppose, on what mood the executioner was in and perhaps the crime committed. Of course, there were other ways to execute the victim. Fires were lit under the wheel so the victim could understand what the meaning of a BBQ meant. On the plus side, the executioner could rotate the wheel in a clockwise fashion, making sure the victim was cooked throughly all the way through.
There is an unusual upside to this (not for the criminal, however - he's having a real bad day). If the victim fell from the wheel or it broke, this was regarded as God's intervention! What their life was like after is anyone's guess. Though sympathy is rather limited given their crimes. But still, you have to wonder if Jeramiah did feel truly blessed while he sat there with his crumpled legs and arms in a time when wheelchairs didn't exist.
The wheel and the sharpened timber frame to tie a person to
Head Crusher
Does exactly what it says on the tin. Yes, the head crusher was a solid metal frame with a bar for you to rest your chin while a metal 'hat' attached to the top slowly came down on your head by the means of a screwed rod.
The hat would crush your skull as the executioner cranked the rod down, pushing the metal hat further downward, decreasing the space between. Permanent damage occurred to the victim's jaw, teeth, and pretty much most of their face. Death would be a release for the sufferer of such a punishment.
And if you're wondering about the eyes, yes, these would pop out and sometimes a little receptacle was placed in front to catch them. I suppose the executioner could always clean them up and make a lovely brooch out of them for his dear old mother. Waste not, want not, eh?
Source: Jeronimo Roure Perez
Heretics Fork
A rather peculiar instrument on a much smaller scale than the previous methods. Here the victim was bound with their hands behind their back. A leather collar with a fork consisting of two sharp prongs on both ends was fastened to the collar.
The collar was tied around the person's neck and so the sharp metal prongs would dig in and eventually pierce the skin right under the chin and sternum. The victim would not be able to move their head forward without risking stabbing themselves with the device. Talk about having a crick in your neck.
The Barrel
Fancy a tipple? Some people liked their drink a little too much. For those who were more than three sheets to the wind and prone to violence, a punishment considered fitting at the time for repeat offenders was the barrel. No, it wasn't a barrel filled with ale or wine.
Sometimes referred to as The Drunkard's Cloak, this barrel was empty until the alcoholic was placed inside. Some barrels had open bottoms, allowing the captive to walk around with only their head poking out of the top. These ones probably fared better than the next lot, even if it was humiliating.
Here we find the local boys having fun with an offender. Lads, lads, lads!
Those who were forced into a closed-bottom barrel had to remain sitting in their own excrement along with other putrid liquids. A weight of around 7 kilograms was often placed around their necks with the words "Order of Drunkenness" on them.
If you're wondering how much 7 kg is exactly, a microwave weighs around 8 kg. So, imagine that hanging from your neck after you've been caught running through the streets at 3 am with a wooden bucket on your head shouting "I'm a wizard!" before swearing and flashing your backside at Mrs Warboys, the elderly neighbour.
In Rome, victims were forced to keep their head under the filth and each time they came up for air, the executioner would wave their axe over the offender's head, forcing them back under!
The Gossiper's Violin
If you were a little too fond of idle prittle-prattle and enjoyed spreading rumours of those you did not like out of spite, there was a punishment fit for flapping gums. The Gossiper's Violin!
This didn't involve playing a violin badly until you ran all the cats out of town. This was an iron clamp that fitted around your neck and wrists, holding your arms up as if in prayer. Some were made from solid wood as well. The offender would be forced to remain like this for several hours, often overnight, giving them time to think about their blabbermouthing.
Their hands and arms would go numb after a time and, when released, would suffer the pain of pins and needles. I imagine Nerys would think twice before beginning her rumormongering next time.
Two ladies being punished for their wagging tongues
And there we have a little selection of some of the horrifying and downright bizarre torture devices spawned from the most sickened minds of the past.
There are many more besides, but not all are suitable for this article owing to their gruesome nature. But this gives you an idea of what criminals and the accused had to face many years ago if they were caught or accused of witchcraft. Certainly not a pleasant time to be alive...
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