methods of torture
Various methods of tortures were used to extract confessions for crime to see if the victim is guilty or not. Women did not escape torture and punishment during this violent era. The highest nobles were automatically exempt from torture but other courtiers were not. The following instruments were used for unproven crime:
The rackThe rack is a rectangular wooden frame with two rollers at either end of the frame. The victim’s ankles would be tied to one roll and their wrists were tied to another roll. Throughout the process, a crank is twisted and tightens the tension in the chains holding the victims hands and ankles delivering awful pain.
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The SCAVENGER'S daughterThe Scavengers Daughter was a device invented in England. It was designed to have the exact opposite effect to that of the rack. The body was compressed as opposed to being stretched. The device consists of one single iron bar that connected iron shackles closing around the victim’s hands, feet, and neck. This was a bloody torture because as the body is compressed, blood is forced from the nose and ears.
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The brank (Scold's bridle)The Brank was also known as the Scold’s Bridle and it was specifically used as a torture for women to inflict humiliation and discomfort as opposed to pain. A scold is defined as a gossip, shrew, or bad tempered women. The device consists of an iron muzzle, metal mask, or cage which encased the head. There were iron curb projecting into the mouth which rested on the top of the tongue. You could not speak and in some cases the iron curb was studded with spikes which inflicted pain if the victim spoke. Humiliation came from the comments of people that watched this women wear the Brank.
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The ducking stoolThe Ducking Stool was a type of torture method reserved for women. The device was a chair which was hung from the end of a free-moving arm. The women would be strapped to the chair which was placed by the side of a river, which the device swings over. The women would be ducked into the freezing cold water. The length of torture was decided by the operator and the crime that was accused of.
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The iron ballsIn the Iron Balls torture method, the victim would be hanging by the wrists, with a heavy iron ball at each foot. The body was stretched horizontally by ropes passing through rings riveted into the wall and attached to the four limbs. A doctor and a surgeon were often present, feeling the pulse at the temples of the victim to see if they could no longer bear the pain. At the time where the accused could no longer bear the pain, they would be untied and recovered a little strength, and then put to the torture. This process could last for six consecutive hours.
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The iron maidenThe Iron Maiden consists of a large iron casket with a hinged front interior and an internal space filled with spikes. There were two different accounts that have been made on how to use this technique; the first is that when the casket was slowly closed, the victim was slowly impaled, while the second stated that the spikes inside the casket were placed so they stabbed the victim in none life threatening areas. This was a bloody torture as the victim would be stabbed severely, but not to death.
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